Two opposition legislators have alleged that government intelligence officials have been spying on over 200 politicians, judges, journalists, and other people of interest.
Legislators Laura Alonso and Patricia Bullrich — both members of the Propuesta Republicana (PRO) party — presented two legal complaints yesterday against the Argentine Federal Intelligence Agency (AFI).
Patricia Bullrich (left) and Laura Alonso filed the complaints against the AFI yesterday (Photo via Patricia Bullrich official FB page)
Alonso outlined in the formal accusation that she received a phone call from a “person who identified himself as a member of the intelligence services, without revealing his identity for fear that it would endanger himself and his family.” The anonymous caller allegedly told Alonso that the AFI “have been and continue to intercept telephone lines and store information from Whatsapp, email, and text messages” from over 200 people with “political opinions contrary to those of the national government.”
The list, which circulated throughout the media yesterday but was not formally introduced to the judges until earlier today, includes all of the presidential candidates except Daniel Scioli, prominent politicians both past and present, members of the Supreme Court, businessmen, trade unionists, and prominent television figures.
On her twitter account, Patricia Bullrich said: “Once again the government has acted against the rights of Argentines.” She followed up with a photo of the judicial complaint.
However, government officials have been quick to point out holes in the legislators’ claims.
The complaint does not include any further evidence of the proposed spy operation beyond the phone conversation between Alonso and the unidentified caller.
Oscar Parrilli, head of the AFI, responded by saying, “We do not do this [intercept phone calls, store messages, etc]. We have not done it, we do not do it, and we will not do it.”
One of the federal judges overseeing the case, Sebastián Casanello, said: “The complaint was made about noon without further explanation than what is found on the Internet [the four page complaint is published on various media outlets] and without documentation.” He also told Radio Vorterix this morning that he was “surprised by the widespread public broadcasting” of the allegations, which he commented might hinder the proceedings.
Yesterday, Casanello noted that the court did not have an official list of those affected by the proposed spy operation or a request from the reporting party on how they wish to proceed, noting that both of these items were not included in the complaint. In response, Alonso and Bullrich have followed up today with documentation listing the affected parties of the alleged spy operation.
Cabinet Chief Aníbal Fernández assured transparency to discredit the claims and promised that the government will cooperate fully with the judicial process.
Fernández also criticised both Alonso and Bullrich for making up accusations for political gain.
“I think that most of what these two legislators have done over the years has been a fabrication,” he said this morning. “This is an invention made by the two legislators who forget that their own candidate [Mauricio Macri] is accused of illegal wire tapping and monitoring.”
Judge Casanello has ordered measures to begin investigating the case, but is awaiting further information from the reporting party on how they wish to proceed.
The post Opposition Legislators Accuse Government of Illegal Spying appeared first on The Argentina Independent.