Call for the Human Rights Commission to probe MTN

The call comes in the wake of a lawsuit brought in the District Court of Columbia in Washington DC, US, alleging that MTN engaged in bribery and traded in political influence to secure a mobile operating licence in Iran.

The papers, filed by rival bidder Turkcell, claim MTN won the licence in 2005 after bribing a slew of politicians and promising that South Africa would supply arms to Iran and support the country's nuclear programme.

The court papers also suggest that MTN Group (Ltd) may have undertaken to provide access to its devices by agreeing to facilitate the installation of eavesdropping technology" on its devices in Iran.

The following is an excerpt from a letter written by David Maynier, MP and DA shadow minister of defence and military veterans, to Advocate Lawrence Mushwana, chairman of the SA Human Rights commission, requesting the investigation: "I am sure you are aware that serious allegations against the MTN Group (Ltd) have emerged as a result of a lawsuit brought in the District Court of Columbia ... MTN is alleged to have engaged in bribery and trading in influence to secure a mobile operating licence in Iran.

"These are very serious allegations and for that reason they have been referred to the directorate of priority crime investigation (Hawks) of the SA Police Service ...

"I am therefore concerned that in possibly facilitating the surveillance of the political opposition (Maynier cites incidents where so-called 'dissidents' such as the opposition journalist Saeid Pourheydar were confronted during their detention in the infamous Envin Prison, by intelligence officers, with transcripts of their mobile calls, e-mails and text messages), the MTN Group (Ltd) may be directly or indirectly responsible for violation of human rights in Iran.

"My concerns about their role in possibly facilitating the surveillance of the political opposition in Iran are compounded by, among others: - Reports that MTN-Irancell purchased a system to monitor local voice calls from a company called Nokia Siemans Networks in 2008,

- Reports that MTN-Irancell purchased a system that could filter, block and store text messages from a company called AdaptiveMobile in 2008, and

- Reports that MTN-Irancell purchased systems which could monitor the location of users from a company called Ericsson in 2009.


(2012-04-03/sowetanlive)