Harb Denies IMSI Analysis Infringes on Liberties, Holds Government responsible for Future Crimes
March 14 opposition MP Butros Harb denied on Tuesday that handing over security agencies a unique code used to identify an individual user on a GSM network known as IMSI would infringe on people’s liberties, a day after the government approved limited access to the so-called telecom data.
“It is unfortunate that there was a dispute” between the different members of the cabinet on the telecom data, Harb said during a press conference about differences during Monday’s government session on the telecom data.
The dispute erupted between the March 8 majority ministers from the Change and Reform bloc, Hizbullah and Amal on one side and centrists led by President Michel Suleiman, Premier Najib Miqati, Interior Minister Marwan Charbel and ministers loyal to Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblat on the other.
The disagreement led to an approval to hand over security apparatuses the telecom data within a limited geographic location and after the consent of a three-member expert judicial committee.
The deal came after the March 8 ministers rejected to give the agencies the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), which is a unique identifying number stored in the phone's SIM, except for certain areas as called for by the law.
However, Harb, who escaped an assassination attempt last week after detonators were found in the elevator of a building where he has an office, said that handing over the IMSI does not infringe on people’s civil liberties.
“I regret that the cabinet’s decision will cover the crimes and criminals in Lebanon … and encourage the killing of politicians and innocent civilians,” he said.
“The government will be held responsible for any crime that happens” in the future after Monday’s decision, the lawmaker added.
He also lauded Suleiman, Miqati, Charbel and the ministers loyal to Jumblat for their support to handing over the full data to security bodies.
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