LEADER of the ruling Christian Democrats (KDH) Pavol Hrušovský has proposed that Slovak Information Service (SIS) chief Vladimír Mitro be removed from his post.
Hrušovský confirmed that his party requested the move at a March 4 meeting of the coalition council, a senior coalition body, after Mitro named former journalist Peter Tóth to lead the service's counter-surveillance unit.
According to Hrušovský, Tóth is involved in the ongoing illegal surveillance scandal that broke more than two months ago when it surfaced that the mobile phone of deputy speaker of Slovak parliament Pavol Rusko had been illegally tapped. Hrušovský, however, would not specify Tóth's role in the scandal.
Tóth, who has worked for Slovak dailies SME and Národná Obroda, is suspected of having sent a fax to Attorney General Milan Hanzel's office, accusing Interior Minister Vladimír Palko from KDH of manipulating a database of surveillance material at the Interior Ministry. Hanzel said his office was investigating the case.
10. Mar 2003 at 0:00 | From press reports of TASR and SITA
