Head of French Spy Agency Handed Initial Charges

The arch of France's DCRI counterespionage bureau was handed basic accuse Monday in a delving into allegations of spying on journalists at the circadian "Le Monde," his advocate said.Patrick Maisonneuve said the basic accuse adjoin Bernard Squarcini accommodate "violating abstruse correspondence" and "unlawfully accession data.Under French law, the antecedent accuse acquiesce magistrates to abide investigating afore free whether to accelerate the case to trial.The delving stems from a clothing filed by "Le Monde" aftermost year. The bi-weekly declared the appointment of French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked the DCRI to analyze a journalist's antecedent and stop leaks in a aspersion surrounding L'Oreal almsman Liliane Bettencourt, Europe's wealthiest woman.The law on attention journalists' sources forms a colonnade of French media freedom.Maisonneuve said Squarcini has disqualified out resigning from the DCRI, which he has headed back its conception in 2007 in a alliance of the DST counterterrorism account and the RG badge surveillance agency.