Bug in Cypriot minister’s office
NICOSIA (Reuters) – Telephone-tapping devices have been found in the office of a government minister in Cyprus responsible for the police force, officials said yesterday. The find, discovered in a sweep almost four months ago, was kept quiet by authorities pending inquiries and was only publicly confirmed yesterday. «I cannot lie about this. I am compelled to confirm it,» said Justice Minister Doros Theodorou, who discovered the device concealed in an electricity socket behind his desk in June. There were reports that a private security firm found the bug after the actions of a lone policeman in the minister’s office aroused suspicion. But officials gave little detail on the unprecedented incident. Theodorou played down the find, implicitly confirming reports a predecessor may have been the victim of eavesdropping. «I think this is a ghost from the past,» he said. Asked whether he would order further investigations, President Tassos Papadopoulos responded with a simple «no.»
