The proposal authorizes the police to require the telephone company to inform telephone line holders
On Wednesday, the President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, proposed a reform of the Code of Criminal Procedure in empowering the National Police to have the authority to raid, steal electronic and computer equipment and demand from telephones the digital information (calls, text and voice messages, and geolocation) of persons under investigation, without the need for a court order.
The initiative, which proposes to amend 8 articles of the Code of Criminal Procedure, was sent to the Board of Directors of the National Assembly (Parliament), controlled by the Sandinistas, and was subsequently forwarded to the Justice and Legal Affairs Commission for consultation and opinion.
The proposal authorizes the Police to require the telephone company to “information from mobile, fixed, associated services, call- relation, text and voice, geolocation, the location of stationed and receiving antennas.”
Also the “number of the subscriber’s identity module, the addresses of Internet protocols, the international identity of a mobile team and users linked to the teams of telephone companies.
The National Police, headed by Francisco Díaz, a consue of President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo, will also be able to “conduct searches, searches, inspections and searches that are necessary, and will be able to extract and access information from electronic and computer systems.
All these actions may be carried out without a court order in cases of urgency and will have a period of three working days for the validation of the act before the judicial authority, in accordance with the initiative.
According to the explanatory statement, the reforms are being requested by Ortega as a way of anticipating cover-up actions, securing such goods and accessing in a timely and direct manner that information that guarantees success in the confrontation with national and transnational crime.
The reform proposal also sends the Director-General of the Police to ask public and private financial institutions for information on the transactions of natural or legal persons being investigated.
Also, seize, occupy or freeze assets, securities, certificates of deposit, documents and bank accounts.”
It may also suspend operations or financial transactions. All such measures may be done without the person being investigated being informed.
“All persons who have access to this information shall keep absolute reservation of their content. Public officials who violate this provision may be removed from office, without prejudice to responsibilities, the initiative states.
The reform states that even in a declaration of rebellion, the proceedings against the person will not be suspended and if a trial has already begun – the accused will be represented by a public defender.
This article has been translated after first appearing in El Salvador