AMSTERDAM, 09/07/09 - De Telegraaf says four of its journalists including chief editor Sjuul Paradijs have been phone-tapped by the AIVD secret service. The newspaper, the biggest in the Netherlands, is now taking the State to court with the support of the entire press sector.

According to De Telegraaf, its journalists Jolande van der Graaf and Hans Kuitert have for months been phone-tapped, followed and observed. The telephones of chief editor Sjuul Paradijs and deputy chief editor Joost de Haas have also been tapped. "As far as is known, this is the first time that chief editors in our country have had to do with this," wrote the newspaper yesterday. "Now that free news-gathering is at risk, the nationwide press is moving together."

The newspaper is taking the Dutch State to court in a joint action together with the Netherlands Association of Journalists union (NVJ) and the Society of Chief Editors. In a summary injunction in an Amsterdam district court on 16 July, they will demand that the AIVD give an account of the "very far-reaching detection methods" that were used and "immediately desist from the eavesdropping, following and observing of Telegraaf journalists."

An AIVD source gave De Telegraaf information that led on 28 March to an article ('AIVD failed over Iraq') in the newspaper. The suspected source was recently arrested and the writer, Jolande van der Graaf, interrogated on suspicion of giving away state secrets.

Based on documents in the case file, De Telegraaf now concludes that the AIVD eavesdropped Van der Graaf mobile telephone from 15 January. A large number of taps were also installed, including on telephones of Paradijs and De Haas and foreign editor Kuitert.

"All movements of Van der Graaf since 15 January have been minutely examined," says the newspaper's lawyer B. Le Poole. "Thus not only has a gigantic amount of information been gathered about the publications concerned, but also on other activities. They now also have information on sources that have nothing to do with the matter."

Home Affairs Minister Guusje ter Horst is responsible for the AIVD. "She should explain whether she gave permission for this and if so, why," according to Paradijs. "You do not treat journalism like this."

De Telegraaf, the journalists association and the Dutch chief editors group are demanding that the AIVD destroys all data within five days. For each day that the service fails to comply with this, they are asking the court to impose a fine of 25,000 euros.