The German television outlet ARD on Sunday aired a blockbuster report titled “Iran: Persecution with modern surveillance technology,” citing a document obtained by the outlet in Persian showing that at “Khatam University in Tehran in 2017, an instruction course was organized by Bosch security and an Iranian distribution partner.” The topics of the instruction course were “facial recognition, face detection, and intelligent tracking from objects.”

The instruction teacher was allegedly a distribution director for the Bosch’s Middle East division. ARD did not name the director. Iran International sent press queries to Bosch, including the spokesperson responsible for the Middle East.

Bosch told ARD it delivered 8,000 cameras to Iran’s regime between 2016-2018. Bosch disputed that its cameras can be used for full facial recognition and denied that a Bosch employee participated in the instruction course. According to Amnesty International, the regime is expanding its” mass surveillance” targeting street traffic, with a focus on women to ensure they are wearing their compulsory hijab.

Iranian dissidents, whose images were altered to protect their identities, told ARD they seek to sabotage the cameras on the streets to prevent the persecution of protesters. ARD showed images of Bosch cameras and software used to monitor streets and highways.

An Iranian activist told ARD when a camera captures more than5 or 10 people at a protest an alarm signal is sent to the police and “within minutes” security forces are present.

In April, Iran International reported that Ahmad-Reza Radan, the chief commander of the Iran’s police, said that his security apparatus will use advanced technology and equipment to identify women who violate the law requiring females to wear the mandatory hijab in public places. He said women and girls who do not cover their hair in “public places, cars, or commercial centers,” will be prosecuted.

The ARD concluded its report with the narrator stating “When women in Iran face a trial in the future it could take place with help of technology from Made in Germany.”

It is not clear if Bosch has had any dealings with Iran since the United States re-imposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic in 2018, but Tehran is adept at finding intermediary's to do business with Western companies.

The Iranian-American human rights activist, Lawdan Bazargan, told Iran International “Regrettably, Germany has a long-standing history of supporting the Islamic Regime of Iran (IRI) at the expense of the Iranian people, human rights, and democratic values. The 1980s, known as the Bloody Decade among Iranians, witnessed Germany maintaining close ties with Iran while remaining silent after the 1988 massacre of political prisoners. “

She said “Taking into account Germany's past experiences and the potential consequences of aiding the IRI in oppressing its people, it appears that Germany's assistance to the IRI is indeed deliberate.”

Source: Iran International