Swedish Ericsson 'help Georgia spy on citizens', AFP reports

The Georgian government may be using technology from Swedish telecom giant Ericsson to illegally monitor its own citizens, Agency France-Press (AFP) reported, citing the company itself as the source of the news.

Ericsson sold it (software) along with networking equipment to the Georgian telecom provider Geocell in 2005.

Geocell, Georgias leading mobile phone provider is a member of the TeliaSonera Group that has up to two million subscribers in a country of 4.5 million people.

According to the information of Ericssons official, the technology was originally designed to track criminals.

Ericsson officials say that the technology was aimed at lawful monitoring to fight crime, but the (Georgian) authorities allegedly maybe using it for purposes it's not intended for.

Moreover, Swedish public radio reported, not giving the source, that the authorities in Georgia have the technical capacity to monitor 21,000 mobile phones, of which one-third are connected to Geocell.

According to Salomon Beckele, spokesman for TeliaSonera, the operators in Georgia are required to give the government access to their networks.

Geocell CEO, Pasi Koistinen told Swedish radio that the surveillance was legal under Georgian law.

"I find it unacceptable and would like to see the law changed," he told the radio from Georgia. "But as long as the surveillance is done according to the laws, we must follow the laws in this country."