Asielzoekers en surveillance

link2Privacy International over de manier waarop het letterlijk grenzeloze karakter van hedendaagse surveillancetechnologieën een extra bedreiging vormen voor asielzoekers en andere kwetsbare vluchtelingen. Vooral politieke vluchtelingen zijn dikwijls het doelwit van verregaande surveillance.

This is more than just an issue of political freedoms. Refugees and other forcibly displaced persons are seeking protection from persecution, and continued surveillance means continued persecution. A 2012 study looking at the surveillance of Karen refugees from Burma/Myanmar in Sheffield, England, found deliberate efforts by perpetrators in South East Asia to smear, embarrass, and cause mental harm to individuals by hacking into their communications devices. The refugees themselves “saw it implicitly as the Burmese government attempting to intimidate at long distance and as they were unable to physically oppress, the government sought to do this psychologically.” With advanced surveillance capabilities, the possibility for anyone, “from anywhere in the world” to carry out such attacks is both unproblematic and deeply troubling.

Wherever you go, they can follow: Modern surveillance technologies and refugees