Amesys, which is now owned by the Bull technology group, and its former chief, Philippe Vannier, were charged with complicity in acts of torture on June 18, the sources said.

The inquiry was opened in 2013 after a complaint by two France-based NGOs, the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH) and the League of Human Rights (LDH).

They accused Amesys of selling internet surveillance gear to Libya between 2007 and 2011 which was used to hunt government opponents...

Contacted by AFP, a lawyer for the company, Olivier Baratelli, denied "any sort of complicity in torture whatsoever."...

"These indictments send a clear message to surveillance companies that they are not above the law, and could face criminal accountability for their actions," Amnesty tech director Rasha Abdul Rahim said in a statement last week...