All phone and internet connections in Ethiopia are provided by a state-owned company. According to HRW, this has given the government unchecked power to monitor communications. Security officials have virtually unlimited access to the call records of all telephone users in Ethiopia, the report said. They regularly and easily record phone calls without any legal process or oversight. Recorded conversations are also alleged to have featured in abusive interrogations of suspected dissidents. The technology used by to monitor the communications is said to have been provided by companies based in China, the UK, Italy and Germany. The foreign firms that are providing products and services that facilitate Ethiopias illegal surveillance are risking complicity in rights abuses, HRWs business and human rights director, Arvind Ganesan, said. According to the report, the government has extended its surveillance to Ethiopians living overseas. Ethiopians living in the UK and the US have accused the authorities in Addis Ababa of planting spy software on their computers. Both countries have been urged to investigate the claims, on the grounds that they may have violated domestic laws against invasions of privacy. HRW says the firms that sell surveillance technology to governments also have a duty to ensure that their products are not helping to suppress human rights. The makers of these tools should take immediate steps to address their misuse, Mr Ganesan said.
Posted on: Tue, 25 Mar 2014 17:55:18 +0000
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