France, the cradle of democracy, legitimized surveillance of its citizens without trial. According to a new law, security services and the government will authorize to monitor Internet users and subscribers of mobile operators.
The law allows authorities, including the police, anti-terrorism agencies and some ministries to organize direct surveillance of any user of the Internet.
Until today, the authorities had to ask a court permission to access to private information. This process could have taken several months.
Now, the Article 13 of the document expands the powers of French security services, and allows them to keep track of any person and collect information about anyone in real time and without judicial oversight. Interestingly, the new law was passed in France just a few weeks after the Paris violently resented the US policy of total surveillance of the people around the world, including countries' top officials.
Activists who fight for civil rights and freedom have already said that the new law "violates the principles of democracy." It is to be recalled also that both in France and in other western democracies, as well as in Russia, there are so-called anti-terrorist laws, which allow to detain anyone suspected of terrorism and hold them in prison without charge or trial. In addition, the suspect can be killed without charges, "during the detention", as it happens for example in Russia, and as has been demonstrated in the United States during the arrest of the Tsarnaev brothers.
Meanwhile, the country, which is considered authoritative by west, undemocratic, medieval, dictatorial, etc. - Saudi Arabia - banned tracking conversations, e-mails and messages through other means of communication without a court order. Amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code have been approved by the Saudi king. Now surveillance and wiretapping without a court order is banned in this country.
In addition, the courts restrict wiretapping to specific time period. New amendments also prohibit the arrest of any person, search of property, detention, placement in detention in all cases except those where the law allows arrest or restriction of freedom, and this measure can also be applicable only for a limited period specified by authorities.
Prohibited are: applying physical or mental torture of prisoners, subjecting them to degrading treatment. In the case of detention, every arrested individual shall be informed of the reason for his arrest and shall be entitled to contact those whom they wish to inform about the arrest. In addition, according to the newspaper Medina, questioning and other actions of the arrested women are only possible in presence of their guardians (mahrams). Under the law, every defendant has the right to a lawyer and legal protection during the investigation and judicial inquiry. It is to be recalled that this summer, it became known that the US National Security Agency maintains a global surveillance of Americans, citizens of other countries, governments of the other countries and some political figures. America was getting a support in this area by the United Kingdom, Sweden and Australia.
