Wiretapping of Phones in Russia Represents Continuous Flow System

Chief Deputy of Administration of Special Technical Measures of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow Michael Janykin is arrested on suspicion in participation of organization of illegal wiretapping of conversations of citizens aiming of their subsequent sale of their decodings. Janykin was arrested several days ago in his office in a building of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow on Petrovka, 38, however, it became known only today. According to FSB and department of own safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, deputy chief of Administration of Special Technical Measures was engaged in illegal wiretapping of negotiations of politicians and businessmen ordered by their competitors.

Administration of Special Technical Measures is - a division engaged with technical maintenance of work of law enforcement bodies, in particular, organization of wiretapping of telephone conversations of the suspects.

The fact that everyone in Russia is being "listened" - is known for a long time. Tariffs to receive "wiretap" of interesting persons are also known, at that is possible to do it not obligatory from Administration of Special Technical Measures of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow.

They started to publish "wiretaps" many years ago, "Moscow Komsomolets" was the first to act in this genre, its editor-in-chief Paul Gusev heads the commission on mass-media in Public chamber today. Alexander Hinstein, today the deputy of the State Duma from "Edinaya Russia" became the "author" of products in a new genre. And today in archive of, let us say, "Kompromat.ru", you can find out a set of "wiretaps" of the most different people made by the most various structures. Including also the ones where almost all members of editorial staff of FORUM.msk figure.

However, employees of the Municipal Department of Internal Affairs of Moscow became the first who were "caught" on the wiretapping. Militiamen added phone numbers of the ones whose wiretap was ordered by the clients in the applications already approved by court on really existing criminal cases. Janykin, according to investigation, these applications vised and criminal cases in which numbers of illegally wiretapped phones were entered, were given to him by one of the high-ranking employees of Criminal Investigation Department. Big quantity of applications as well as protocols of conversations were found out in his office during a search which took place right after Janykin's arrest, numbers of the phones which were illegally wiretapped were entered into them.  

Michael Janykin, "Commersant" writes, in the near future will be accused according to the law 286 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation ("Excess of the Official Powers Which Entailed Essential Infringement of the Rights and Legitimate Interests of Citizens"). However he, most likely, will be not the only figurant in the case of illegal wiretap. On Thursday the Chief Deputy of the Criminal Investigation Department Nikolay Orlov was dismissed. Copies of decodings of illegally listened conversations were also found in Orlov's study. According to the edition, investigation has begun already several months ago after publication in Internet of the records of conversations of famous Russian and Ukrainian politicians and businessmen connected with political crisis in the Ukraine.  

- Every "wiretap", published in mass-media, is possible to consider a lawful occasion for excitation of criminal case, - editor-in-chief of FORUM.msk Anatoly Baranov considers. - However, it's the first time for long years of existence of this "genre" when law enforcement bodies excited. Though, I remember, about illegal wiretapping of privates in a case of the Private Security Enterprise "Atoll" which worked for Berezovsky during Primakov-Maslukov government. Or, for example, already previous year the State Duma issued an official bulletin "Russia and World" (№11 (601)) in which "on a blue eye" a record of private conversation of members of the Union of Communistic Youth of the Russian Federation made secretly on June, 16th of the last year after assembly were published. And nobody got interested, on what basis that "wiretap" was carried out - it is possible to consider it as my official application to the Office of Public Prosecutor. Moreover, the same Duma prepared now for final acceptance a law on extremism according to which it will be possible to wiretap not only suspects in bad crimes and felonies but also in moderately grave crimes. Thus, so that to wiretap absolutely "legally" politician or journalist it will be sufficient to open the case against him, say, on non-support, slander or vandalism. You are free to wiretap as much as you want, without any fear.