Watchdog

Over the 28 years of Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s repressive rule, Belarusians who oppose him, despise him, or just want to criticize any particular policy could feel relatively safe expressing their views inside the confines of their homes.

Now they may want to think again, legal and digital experts say -- especially if they use things like GPS tracking apps, online dating services, or a voice-controlled virtual assistant like Alisa, a product of the Russia-based Internet company Yandex.

Lukashenka signed a decree last week requiring telecom operators and website owners to connect to a new, state-designed system that would allow the Belarusian KGB to surveil almost any online activity.

The October 18 decree crystalizes a law passed last year that on paper gave state security agencies unlimited powers to spy on citizens’ digital footprints, including at-home smart devices, but provided no mechanism for doing so.

“If surveillance through Internet resources and databases sounded like a potential threat before, it is now clear how they are going to do it in practice,” Netobservatory and Za BYnet, two groups that monitor online freedom in Belarus, said in a research note released in cooperation with the legal aid organization LegalHub.

The state’s expansion of online intrusion will not take effect immediately as the system is not yet complete and companies will need time and money to install it, the legal and digital experts said.

In theory, the power to access a citizen’s online footprint can only be undertaken as part of an active investigation, but there is no one overseeing the actions of the security services, the experts said.

In combination with the 2021 law, the new decree allows the KGB to access information that Internet providers, websites, and databases store on individuals – from the pages they visit and the messages they post on forums to their activity with online banking services, dating sites, and more.

Websites and online services often store data for years and the decree does not prevent state security agencies from searching for information prior to it entering force

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The decree is the latest crackdown on freedom and human rights ushered in by Lukashenka since tens of thousands of Belarusian citizens took to the streets in protest after he claimed victory in an August 2020 presidential election whose results they contend were massively falsified.

Stringent Laws, Violent Suppression

Lukashenka’s government violently suppressed the demonstrations and began passing stringent laws in an effort to stamp out the protesters' ability to organize and willingness to resist.

The state targeted Telegram, the social media app that played a crucial role in helping citizens communicate, spread information, and organize activity such as protests. The authorities detained administrators of opposition Telegram channels and threatened charges against those who subscribed to them.

The October 18 decree does not specifically define the type of websites, Internet services, and databases that must connect to the surveillance system, potentially giving the Belarusian security services wide leverage over how to implement it.

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Seven Years In Prison For Following A Telegram Channel? Some Belarusians Are Unsubscribing, Just In Case

Nor does it specify that only domestic companies are covered by the new law, opening the possibility that the authorities would seek to pressure foreign websites.

The note by Netobservatory, Za BYnet, and LegalHub suggested that the KGB could target the largest online players first, including Google, Yandex, Facebook, VK, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, YouTube, and Telegram.

Foreign companies are highly unlikely to concede to such demands, having resisted similar pressure in Russia, a much larger and lucrative market.

Websites and online services that refuse to cooperate could be banned, the note said.

Belarusian citizens will not know which websites are connected to the surveillance system, potentially prompting many to avoid any website or online service that they think the state will target.

Belarusians unsubscribed en masse to Telegram channels the state considered “extremist” for fear of arrest.

The note from the three expert groups said devices connected as part of “smart home” systems could be of interest to the KGB. The devices -- linked for purposes such as home security, heating, and energy conservation -- can contain a wealth of information about an individual, such as their location.

The stored data of intelligent voice assistants that record conversations could potentially be accessed by the KGB, the experts said.

“Have you already set up a ‘smart home’ system from [state provider] Beltelecom with sensors and video cameras, or are you still in doubt?” they wrote, suggesting that Belarusians risk compromising their privacy and playing into the hands of the KGB if they do so.

Written by Todd Prince based on reporting by RFE/RL’s Belarus Service

The United States has designated 10 Iranian officials, including those overseeing Tehran's Evin prison, for sanctions over Internet censorship and a crackdown on protests ignited by Mahsa Amini's death in police custody.

The sanctions, including financial blocks and other penalties, were imposed on October 26 by the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and they target Iranian leaders and members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC).

Among those designated is Hedayat Farzadi, who the Treasury Department says is warden of Evin prison, which holds political prisoners and is where Washington says many protesters have been sent.

The new sanctions come 40 days after Amini's death and are part of a string of actions imposed against Tehran for its repression of protestors and disruption of Internet access.

“Forty days after the tragic death of Mahsa Amini, Iranians continue to bravely protest in the face of brutal suppression and disruption of Internet access,” said Brian Nelson, undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence in the Treasury Department. He said the sanctions are "part of our commitment to hold all levels of the Iranian government accountable for its repression.”

Amini, 22, was taken into custody last month for allegedly improperly wearing a head scarf. The government said the cause of her death was "underlying diseases" but eyewitnesses and her family say she was beaten while in custody.

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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement that the United States "will continue to find ways to support the people of Iran as they peacefully protest in defense of their human rights and fundamental freedoms, and in doing so, will continue to impose costs on individuals and entities in Iran who engage in the brutal repression of the Iranian people."

In addition to the sanctions on Farzadi, the Treasury Department said it imposed sanctions on the commander of the IRGC’s intelligence organization, as well as provincial and Iranian prison officials and people and entities tied to Internet censorship.

The Treasury Department accused Farzadi of having overseen the torture and mistreatment of prisoners before becoming warden of Evin.

Farzadi was known to organize public amputations of criminals convicted of petty crimes, and as director of the Greater Tehran Penitentiary, also known as Fashafouyeh Prison, Farzadi oversaw the torture and maltreatment of numerous prisoners, including political prisoners and members of religious minority groups, the department said, adding that several prisoners under his responsibility have died from lack of medical treatment.

Seyyed Heshmatollah Hayat Al-Ghaib, the director-general of Tehran Province Prisons, was also designated on October 26 along with the wardens of several other prisons in Iran.

Hossein Modarres Khiabani, the governor of Sistan and Baluchistan Province in southeastern Iran, where the Treasury said some of the worst violence in the latest round of protests has taken place, was also targeted.

Also named were two members of Iran's intelligence and security ministry, as well as the Ravin Academy founded by them, which the Treasury Department said trains people in cybersecurity and hacking.

The Iranian company Samane Gostar Sahab Pardaz Private, which the department said provides censorship, surveillance, and espionage tools to the Tehran government, was also designated.

The sanctions freeze any U.S. assets belonging to those named and generally bars Americans from carrying out any transactions involving their property or accounts.

The Oslo-based group Iran Human Rights says the crackdown has killed at least 215 people, including 27 children. The authorities have yet to announce a death toll, but state media have said around 30 members of the security forces have been killed.

Iranian leaders have without presenting any evidence accused the United States and other Western countries of fomenting what they call "riots."

With reporting by Reuters and AP