HRW: #Ethiopia government Regularly Records Phone conversations

Washington Post

A rights group says that Ethiopia's government regularly
listens to and records the phone calls of opposition activists and journalists
using equipment provided by foreign technology companies.

Human Rights Watch said in a report Friday that the foreign equipment aids the
Ethiopian government's surveillance of perceived political opponents inside and
outside the country.

The group's Arvind Ganesan said Ethiopia is using its government-controlled
telecom system to silence dissenters. The group says that recorded phone calls
with family and friends are often played during abusive interrogations.

Human Rights Watch said most of the monitoring technology is provided by the
Chinese firm ZTE. Several European companies have also provided equipment,
the group said, including from the U.K., Germany and Italy.