Italian law enforcement officials have raided surveillance company Area Spa after suspicions the company had sold wiretapping and other surveillance tools to the Syrian government, a violation of "a European embargo against the Bashar al-Assad regime," Motherboard reports. "It’s unclear why the Italian authorities have launched a new investigation at this time," the report states. Motherboard had found "the company was already being investigated for having stored 'thousands' of wiretaps made by Italian prosecutors who use Area Spa’s technology." Dutch MEP Marietje Schaake said that while "Area Spa must be held to account if it broke the sanctions regime ... it would be even better if we can prevent these type of sales from happening in the first place."
Full Story