RIGA - Latvia's entire law enforcement system came under scrutiny last week after it was revealed that a journalist's phone had been tapped on a dubious basis and the transcripts of her conversations were leaked to the press.
Several law enforcement agencies immediately announced internal probes, and the Supreme Court placed a justice on suspension, the first time the court took such a step in the country's history. Prime Minister Aigars Kalvitis publicly declared that "Latvia can no longer feel safe" and that the entire system of issuing wiretaps had to be reviewed.
The crisis began on Sept. 12 when the daily newspaper Neatkariga published excerpts of LTV journalist Ilze Jaunalksne's private mobile phone conversations. The Prosecutor's Office launched a criminal investigation into the wiretapping the next day.
It was soon revealed that the financial police, who had requested the phone tap, had leaked the information. In defense, the State Revenue Service passed the blame to Supreme Court judge Marija Goldsmite, who had granted the financial police permission to tap Jaunalksne's phone.
Although the Supreme Court said it was too early to launch proceedings against Goldsmite on Sept. 12, she was suspended from her post for the duration of the investigation, which will depend on the results of a parallel probe by the Prosecutor General's Office.
When questioned by journalists, Goldsmite vacillated between excuses, first telling journalists that she did not remember the details of the case, and then later stating that her actions were justified. Â
The State Revenue Service said it would also conduct an internal investigation to discover the source of the leaked information.
Meanwhile, Jaunalksne has submitted a claim to the Administrative District Court, demanding 300,000 lats (426,863 euros) in compensation from the state for moral damages. The court will decide whether to look into the case this week.
On Sept. 13, Kalvitis decried the crisis on national television, placing the blame on Latvia's Corruption and Prevention Bureau (KNAB).
"The responsibility goes to KNAB for letting the majority of these phone conversations get tapped and disseminated," Kalvitis said on the LNT program 900 Sekundes, adding that the watchdog had neglected its surveillance responsibilities.
"When the media published politicians' phone conversations it was beneficial to the public, so we went along with it," he said, referring to phone conversations between political party bosses that Jaunalksne publicized last spring. "But now the situation has gotten out of control."
Unlike Jaunalksne's taped phone conversations, the Jurmala transcripts, which suggested vote bribing and influence-peddling, were used as open evidence in the municipal hearing that followed, and therefore public material.
"This country can no longer feel safe in an era of mobile phones," Kalvitis continued. "Must we go back to the Middle Ages and meet in person to discuss all serious questions?"
In response to the prime minister's televised comments, KNAB director Aleksejs Loskutovs jumped to defend the bureau, demanding that Kalvitis either justify what he said or take back his accusations.
Loskutovs said he was furious about the PM's public comments, which "were very serious accusations against KNAB." He urged the prime minister to forward any facts proving that the watchdog had leaked information to the Prosecutor's Office.
Meanwhile, the incident has shaken up Latvians' trust in the law enforcement system. And this, according to Providus public policy analyst Lolita Cigane, is the most serious consequence.
"This case has thrown the integrity of [Latvia's law enforcement] institutions into question," Cigane told The Baltic Times. "It shows that our repressive services 's like the police 's are staffed with people who are prepared to abuse their powers."
She added that Neatkariga's decision to publish Jaunalksne's private conversations was especially alarming, as the daily newspaper is owned by Ventspils Mayor Aivars Lembergs, who is currently charged with serious criminal violations.
"The fact that Neatkariga published these transcripts, which held no societal value 's they were purely journalistic conversations, and by no means incriminating 's shows that Lembergs is using all possible means to fight back," Cigane said.
Lembergs has been accused of graft and tax avoidance by Latvian prosecutors at a time when he is taking his political ambitions to the national stage.
He is also the Greens and Farmers Union's candidate for the prime minister post and is actively campaigning on a platform that there are several forces 's the right-wing New Era party, the Diena paper, the anti-corruption bureau 's out to destroy him. Lembergs has even hinted that there exists a murky plot to kill him.
"It's not the system that's the problem, it's the people," Cigane said.
