THE 45-SECOND recording of a phone conversation of journalist Tom Nicholson, which the Sme daily received in mid October, might have been made under the rule of the Iveta Radičová government (2010-2012).
According to Martin Čorej, current head of the Sme.sk website, a conversation in November 2010 that he had over the phone with Nicholson may have been recorded. At that time Nicholson was working on a web programme called This Week in Slovakia, Sme reported in its October 29 issue. Čorej said he and Nicholson may have been discussing the script for the programme. Based on the transcript of the conversation, the recording was probably made at the same time they were on the phone, Sme wrote.
Nicholson, an investigative journalist who has broken several stories involving alleged corruption, meanwhile said that at that time he started working on his book about the Gorilla file, a lengthy document that purports to describe an operation conducted by the Slovak Information Service (SIS), the country’s main intelligence agency, in which it collected information about the influence of the Penta financial group on senior Slovak politicians between 2005 and 2006. Several people knew he was in possession of the document, he added. The police had been dealing with it as well.
The SIS has already denied tapping Nicholson’s phone, as well as the military intelligence. The only institution which has not denied possible eavesdropping is the police, Sme wrote. Yet, former police president Jaroslav Spišiak told Sme he does not know about any similar recordings, but admitted that police officers were not obliged to inform him about every wiretap.
Then interior minister Daniel Lipšic said he did not know about the recording, adding that it might have been made illegally, Sme wrote.
Source: Sme
For more information about this story please see: Sme: Nicholson’s phone was tapped; he files a criminal motion
Compiled by Radka Minarechová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
