Probe into minister’s phone tap
Cypriot President Tassos Papadopoulos yesterday called for an investigation into the discovery of a phone-tapping device in the office of the country’s justice minister, five days after ruling out such a probe. Papadopoulos said he had decided to ask the Cabinet to authorize the criminal investigation, which he said would help dispel «confusion» over the circumstances of the bugging. «As it has not proven possible to prevent the reopening of old wounds… the investigation will take place in order to restore the affair to its true dimensions,» the Athens News Agency quoted him as saying. The Cabinet will meet tomorrow. The discovery of the bugging device in an electricity socket behind Justice Minister Doros Theodorou’s desk, during a sweep in June, was only confirmed last Wednesday. «I cannot lie about this. I am compelled to confirm it,» Theodorou said at the time. «I think this is a ghost from the past,» he added, apparently confirming speculation that the bug was planted during the tenure of his predecessor.
