ACLU Decries Surveillance

The American Civil Liberties Union sent an open letter this week to the state attorney general asking him to prevent the FBI from spying on political dissidents in California. The ACLU cited a story by the San Francisco Chronicle last month which detailed that the FBI had spied on student activists at U-C Berkeley in the 1960s. In the letter to state Attorney General Bill Lockyer, the ACLU urged him to enforce the state´s constitutional right to privacy and prevent such snooping. The letter comes on the heels of an announcement by U-S Attorney General John Ashcroft of new guidelines that allow FBI agents to conduct surveillance in public places, including houses of worship and libraries.