Opening of a judicial inquiry targeting Amesys for complicity in acts of torture in Libya
| Publisher | International Federation for Human Rights |
| Publication Date | 24 May 2012 |
| Cite as | International Federation for Human Rights, Opening of a judicial inquiry targeting Amesys for complicity in acts of torture in Libya, 24 May 2012, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4fc8ad9b9.html [accessed 29 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
Last Update 24 May 2012
FIDH and LDH welcome the opening of a judicial investigation following a complaint filed last October against the company Amesys for complicity in acts of torture in Libya.
On October 19th, 2011, our organizations filed a complaint concerning the responsibility of the company Amesys, a subsidiary of Bull, for crimes allegedly committed through the supplying to Gaddafi's regime, beginning in 2007, of a surveillance system intended to monitor communications of the Libyan population.
FIDH and the LDH also welcome the attribution of this case to the specialized unit in war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, recently created within the Paris Tribunal, as they had requested.
"We regret that it took seven months before a judicial inquiry was actually opened concerning a such a serious case. Our organizations hope that the investigations will be quickly dealt with, in France as well as in Libya, to establish the truth and the potential responsibility of Amesys", declared Patrick Baudouin, Honorary President and Coordinator of the Litigation Action Group (GAJ) of FIDH.
"This is a doubly symbolic case: On the one hand, because it involves a company that made a commercial agreement with a dictatorial regime, giving it the means to reinforce the repression of its population; on the other hand because it will contribute to bringing to light the serious crimes committed under Gaddafi's regime", stated Michel Tubiana, Honorary President of LDH.
The facts
When Tripoli was liberated, on 29 August 2011, journalists from the Wall Street Journal entered the building where the Libyan regime monitored communications. They found manuals written in English carrying the logo of Amesys, a French subsidiary of the Bull Group.
In 2007 Amesys entered into an agreement with the government of Libya to make technology available for the purpose of intercepting communication, data processing and analysis.
Agreements for technological cooperation, and more particularly software installation, included not only the supplying of equipment, but also a phase of development, assistance and monitoring.
