Norway's State Telecom Accused of Aiding Myanmar's Arrest of 1,200 Activists

A lawsuit in Norway accuses telecom giant Telenor of providing data that helped Myanmar's military arrest activists. The military used the information to find people hiding in safe houses. The case cites the experience of activist Aung Thu. After two weeks of torture failed, his interrogators requested his data from Telenor. At the time, Telenor was Myanmar's largest foreign telecom operator. Telenor is majority-owned by the Norwegian government. It entered Myanmar in 2013 as the country began a transition to democracy. The company promised to connect isolated people to the world. The lawsuit alleges Telenor's actions later helped the military regime seize 1,200 people after a 2021 coup.