Phones of several Brazilian electoral court judges bugged

Deutsche Presse Agentur
Published: Monday September 18, 2006

Brasilia - The private telephones of three top electoral court magistrates in Brazil were bugged, officials said Monday, two weeks ahead of presidential elections in the country. The director general of Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE), Athayde Fontoura Filho, called the incident an "affront to the Republic and to democracy," and said it was the first such case since the court began regularly monitoring its phone lines nine years ago.

TSE President Marco Aurelio Mello was among the victims of the illegal eavesdropping. His direct telephone at the Supreme Federal Court had been bugged.

It was not known who placed the bugs. The case was referred Monday to the president of the country's highest constitutional court, Ellen Gracie, and to Attorney General Antonio Fernando de Souza, for further investigation.

Fontoura Filho said the inspection of TSE phone lines, which until now was a monthly procedure, will from now on take place on a weekly basis.

© 2006 DPA - Deutsche Presse-Agenteur