Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Faris Al-Rawi says the Strategic Services Agency (SSA) cannot intercept calls and spy on citizens as was being claimed by the Opposition.
Speaking during the weekly post-Cabinet press briefing, at the Office of the Prime Minster, yesterday Al-Rawi dismissed concerns that the proposed legislation threatened freedom of the press.
During debate on a bill to expand the mandate of the SSA, Opposition and Independent Senators expressed serious concerns about the legislation, saying it spy on citizens and even the media would be under threat.
President of the T&T Publishers and Broadcasters Association Daren Lee Sing was also quoted as expressing concern over the SSA bill as there were perceived threats to media workers.
Al-Rawi said the interception of communication can only be legally done by the Chief of Defence Staff, the Commissioner of Police and the Director of the SSA.
“The only way that surveillance is permitted on anyone, any ordinary citizen, the media, anyone, is under the Interception of Communication Act,” he said.
He said Section 6 of that Act provides for a warrant to be granted by a High Court judge and only after that was done “you can engage in surveillance and that (only) authorised officers can engage in surveillance for very limited purposes of national security as defined in the legislation.”
He reminded the Interception of Communication Act was approved by the former People’s Partnership Government with the then PNM Opposition support in 2010.
The AG said the Opposition’s claims were “extremely ridiculous. So I’d like to just dismiss that out of hand.”“Anything to deal with arrests, prosecution and conviction are not conducted by the SSA. They are not conducted by the politicians. Those matters are for the T&T Police Service and the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions),” he said.
The bill requires a simple majority vote for approval. It was already passed in the House of Representatives.
Al Rawi said the bill had nothing to fear about the legislation “because there is no law in relation to cybercrime which could prejudice the media.”Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister and the Office of the Attorney General, Stuart Young said the Opposition was misleading citizens on the SSA bill, adding that there are two levels of accountability for the agency, the Joint Select Committee of Parliament and the Auditor General.