Legal Wiretaps by Special Services Are ‘Normal’ – Putin
MOSCOW, June 11 (RIA Novosti) – Russian President Vladimir Putin has defended the right by Russian special services to wiretap but stressed that such practices should take place only when they are sanctioned by a court.
“If this [wiretapping] is made within the framework of the law, by which the special services’ rules of conduct are guided, this is normal. If this is made illegally, this is bad,” Putin said in an interview with Russia Today.
The president said it is common knowledge that electronic intelligence-gathering services monitor citizens and organizations in an effort to fight international terrorism. “I repeat once again, inside the country we proceed from the necessity to obtain a court’s sanction for such operations. Why should this not apply to the work of special services?” he said.
“As a whole, such methods are required. The question is only how they are controlled by the society. You can’t just listen to a phone call in Russia, I can say this for sure, without a special order from court. Generally speaking, this is how this should be done in civilized society while fighting terrorism with the use of any technical means," he said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20130611/181619612/Legal-Wiretaps-by-Special-Services-Are-Normal--Putin.html