MK Menachem Ben-Sasson
Photo: Gil Yochanan
Knesset: Investigate wiretap process
Majority of 35 votes in Knesset pass MK Ben-Sasson's initiative to form committee of inquiry into the wiretapping process after the allegedly unjustified use of taps in the investigation of then Justice Minister Haim Ramon
The Knesset assembly voted on Wednesday to pass the proposal put forth by MK Menachem Ben-Sasson (Kadima) to establish a parliamentary committee of inquiry regarding the wiretapping authorization process in police investigations. The initiative passed with a 35 vote majority.
MK Ben-Sasson, who heads the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, put together the proposal following reports by the state defense regarding the allegedly unjustified tapping of then Justice Minister Haim Ramon by the police.
"What happened in the Haim Ramon case puts us in an absurd situation," said Ben-Sasson last week, "there was an obvious failing here and we mustn't wait for another such failing to occur. I'm troubled by this matter, it seems as though there is an almost automatic agreement between the justice system and the police to carry out wiretaps. This topic should worry the public as well because in the world in which we live what privacy have we left besides our bodies and our conversations. What is the meaning of an intimate conversation, business or secretive, if it is being tapped?"
MK Eli Aflalo (Kadima) will also propose a bill regarding the hot-button issue of the moment. The bill will require the presence of a representative from the state defense in any hearing regarding requested taps. Ben-Sasson said that he supports Aflalo's bill, which would serve to balance the apparent ease in which judges authorize tapping members of the government. Figures presented to the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee last year state that of the 996 tap requests submitted to the courts, only 14 requests were rejected.
