{"id":8935,"date":"2012-04-02T14:34:53","date_gmt":"2012-04-02T12:34:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=8935"},"modified":"2012-04-03T11:06:14","modified_gmt":"2012-04-03T09:06:14","slug":"da-asks-sahrc-to-probe-mtn-for-rights-violations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/telecommunications\/8935\/da-asks-sahrc-to-probe-mtn-for-rights-violations\/","title":{"rendered":"DA calls for probe into MTN for rights violations"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Democratic Alliance (DA)<\/a> says it is to lodge a request with the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC)<\/a> to investigate whether the MTN Group<\/a> may be directly or indirectly responsible for human rights violations in Iran.<\/p>\n

David Maynier<\/a>, MP and DA Shadow Minister of Defence & Military Veterans, said on Monday (2 April 2012): “I am concerned that, in possibly facilitating the surveillance of the political opposition, the MTN Group may be directly or indirectly responsible for violation of human rights in Iran.”<\/p>\n

The following is an excerpt from Maynier’s letter to Advocate Lawrence Mushwana<\/a>, Chairperson of the South African Human Rights commission, requesting the investigation into the MTN Group:<\/p>\n

I am sure you are aware that serious allegations against the MTN Group have emerged as a result of a lawsuit brought in the District Court of Columbia in Washington DC in the United States. The MTN Group are alleged to have engaged in bribery and trading in influence to secure a mobile operating licence in Iran.<\/p>\n

These are very serious allegations and for that reason they have been referred by me to the directorate of priority crime investigation (Hawks) of the South African Police Service.
\nHowever, the court papers also suggest that the MTN Group \u00a0may have undertaken to provide access to its devices by agreeing to facilitate the installation of “eavesdropping technology” on its devices in iran.<\/p>\n

The court papers state the following: “Additionally, upon information and belief, MTN offered the advantage to Sairan that it could provide access by the Iranian Ministry of Defence to MTN’s devices once MTN was partnered with an Iranian company and running a private cellular network in Iran. The access would facilitate installation of eavesdropping technology on MTN devices”.<\/p>\n

According to the court papers, Sairan is a state-owned defence company, which is also known as Iran Electronic Industries (IEI), and which is controlled by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.<\/p>\n

I am therefore concerned that, in possibly facilitating the surveillance of the political opposition, the MTN Group (Ltd) may be directly or indirectly responsible for violation of human rights in Iran.<\/p>\n

My concerns about the role of the MTN Group in possibly facilitating the surveillance of the political opposition in Iran are compounded by:<\/p>\n