CHP head demands details of software allegedly used to spy on ‘justice march’

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu has called on German and Turkish authorities to reveal the details of a German-made software allegedly used to spy on the attendees of last year’s “justice march.”

“They listened to all of our phones conversations. I want the government to reveal those who did this. Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, you have to reveal those who wiretapped us, if you are not a part of this,” Kılıçdaroğlu said at his party’s parliamentary group meeting on May 15.

His comments came after German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung and public broadcasters NDR and WDR published a report by the digital rights group Access Now which said a software called Finspy, created by German company FinFisher, was used to spy on the phones of the attendees of last year’s CHP-led “justice march.”

The report said the attendees downloaded the program via a link shared by fake Twitter accounts, allowing real-time access to the contacts, photos and videos on their smartphones.

But the German Economy Ministry said that it had strict rules regarding the export of spy software licenses and had not approved any licenses for them since October 2014. FinFisher declined to comment after being contacted by Süddeutsche Zeitung, NDR and WDR, Deutsche Welle reported on May 15.

“This program cannot be sold without the authorization of the German government. German media is asking who in Turkey they sold it to. We have to know this,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

“We want to know who the German government sold this program to in Turkey,” he said.

“We will take action against the German government if necessary,” he added.

Kılıçdaroğlu urged Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım to take action regarding the allegations and demanded Turkey’s Information and Communication Technologies Authority (BTK) to reveal the details about the software.

Kılıçdaroğlu led thousands on his three-week “justice march” to Istanbul from the capital Ankara last year to protest the imprisonment of a CHP lawmaker.