Egypt COP27: French Govt. & defence industry "enabling repression" say activists, as cameras imported by Thales-owned Arab Intl. Optronics are ubiquitous
"Cop27: Surveillance and fear in Sharm el-Sheikh as Egypt clamps down on activists", 8 November 2022
Critics of the Egyptian government say such arrests are not isolated events, but part of a pattern of ratcheting security and surveillance during Cop27...
The cost, and the labyrinthine process of registering for attendance, present enormous barriers to most Egyptian activists and those from the global south...
The conference's exclusivity is guarded by heightened surveillance. Routes are now dotted with checkpoints where phone checks are carried out. While they appear scattergun, they're carefully targeted...
Within Sharm el-Sheikh's walls, a tightening network of surveillance technology will monitor the movements of attendees...
In the interview, Fouda revealed that the cameras were imported by Arab International Optronics, a company that is 51 percent military owned, with the remaining 49 percent owned by the French company Thales...
Some activists have suggested that increased surveillance amounts to a clear reason why Cop27 shouldn't have taken place in Egypt...
MEE reached out to the Egyptian embassy in London and the French company Thales for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication.