UK selling spyware technologies to autocrat rulers: Report
The British government is facing new allegations of supporting dictatorial and autocratic regimes by selling them spyware technologies that they use to crack down on growing dissent.
Since 2015, London had authorized the sale of £75 million of spyware and surveillance technology to countries with grim records on human rights and known for their zero tolerance of the dissent, The Guardian newspaper said in a Sunday report on its website.
The governments receiving the technologies include Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the Philippines, all of them repeatedly criticized for the way their security services have spied on opponents.
These security services have used UK-manufactured devices to eavesdrop on telephone conversations through international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) catchers and other surveillance software provided by London, said the report, citing an analysis of export licenses for telecommunications interception equipment by Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), a major UK-based rights organization.
The dubious sale of espionage devices has sparked concerns among rights campaigners and activists.
Andrew Smith of the CAAT said the UK has been mostly ignorant of the use of its spyware technologies by the recipients.
“It is not just conventional weapons that can be used for oppression and abuse, it is also monitoring and surveillance equipment,” said Smith, adding “It is totally reckless and irresponsible to sell this kind of equipment to regimes that can use it against activists and campaigners.”
Many have criticized the British government for its close military and intelligence cooperation with governments like Saudi Arabia and other repressive regimes blacklisted by the Foreign Office for their history of rights abuse, arguing that London has for years prioritized arms exports over human rights.
Read More:
Saudi Arabia has repeatedly been slammed for its zero tolerance for the dissent, especially since the brutal killing of a prominent journalist in a diplomatic mission in Turkey last October.
Bahrain has also been involved in a massive crackdown for the past eight years on people seeking reform in the small Persian Gulf country.
Philippines’ president, Rodrigo Duterte, acknowledged recently that his security services had wiretapped politicians and activists who were subsequently killed.
Rwandans say UK deportation 'another brutal manifestation of neo-colonialism'
UK's Sunak vows to start migrant flights to Rwanda
The struggles of Occupied Palestine
US to pull out troops from Chad in second African state withdrawal
Yemeni armed forces strike British oil tanker in Red Sea
VIDEO | Genocide in Gaza
VIDEO | Press TV's news headlines
VIDEO | American, Israeli rabbis call for ceasefire during protest near Gaza
Iran calls for enhanced defense cooperation with Russia
US campus crackdown: 500 pro-Palestinian protesters arrested
VIDEO | Yemenis rally in Sana'a in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza
This makes it easy to access the Press TV website
