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Netherlands: Bugging bill introduced

01 January 1992

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On 11 December 1991, the draft of a new bill was leaked. Under it the police will be allowed to monitor conversations by means of bugging equipment or directional microphones. Permission for the use of such technical means is at the discretion of the examining magistrate; the bill allows their deployment for crimes that are punishable by 4 years or more in prison. This means that the suspicion of being a member of an illegal organization, an increasingly common charge against squatters and other "political activists", suffices. At the moment only the security service (Binnenlandse Veiligheidsdienst) is allowed the use of bugging and microphone devices, but up to now there is no evidence that the intelligence gained by these means has ever been used in a Dutch court. The draft bill follows a sustained campaign by certain police and justice officials who claim that new means are needed to combat organized crime.

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