YEREVAN, JANUARY 21, ARMENPRESS. The Armenian parliament approved at final reading amendments to the law regulating law enforcement intelligence activities, authorizing the police with powers to conduct phone tapping for surveillance. The previous law reserved the powers to the National Security Service only.

The bill was authored by ruling My Step bloc legislators Armen Khachatryan and Sipan Pashinyan.

According to the authors, the law will facilitate the process and save time in terms of organizational matters and the motions filed to the NSS by authorized bodies seeking the actions.

The Cabinet, however, had not approved the bill.

The Justice Ministry had said that giving the police the authority to conduct phone tapping would require major financial expenses. It had also noted that currently the law on criminal procedures is being revised and it will in turn lead to revising the law on intelligence activities.

The bill was adopted with 97 votes in favor, 20 against and 1 present.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan