Facts
In 2007, the French company Amesys signed a contract with the government of Libya to sell surveillance technologies for the purposes of intercepting communications and processing and analyzing data. This technology allegedly allowed the Gaddafi regime (1969-2011) to repress dissidence and to commit serious human rights abuses.
Procedure
On 19 October 2011, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and the French Ligue des droits de l’Homme lodged a criminal complaint as civil parties against Amesys and its management, denouncing their alleged role as accomplices in acts of torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment in Libya, on the basis of universal jurisdiction.
On 26 March 2012, the Office of the Prosecutor at the Paris Tribunal considered that there were insufficient grounds to open an investigation. However, the investigative judge decided on 23 May 2012 to open a formal criminal investigation. On 15 January 2013, the Paris Court of Appeal (Cour d’appel) decided to allow the investigation to proceed.
In January 2013, five Libyan victims joined the proceedings as civil parties. They were heard in June and July 2013 by the investigative judge. Another Libyan victim joined the case and was heard on 11 December 2015. In March 2016, new evidence consisting of dozens of documents from Gaddafi’s security services came to light, reportedly showing the regime’s extensive use of the surveillance technologies provided by Amesys to track, arrest and torture political opposition.
On 30 May 2017, Amesys was formally assigned the status of assisted witness (témoin assisté) for complicity in torture committed in Libya between 2007 and 2011.
In June and July 2021, two French executives of the company, as well as two employees and the company itself, were charged while under investigation (mis en examen) by the investigative judges for complicity in torture.
In December 2021 and January 2022, Amesys and its four indicted executives and employees requested the nullity of the procedure and the dismissal of their indictments.
In November 2022, the Investigative Chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the indictments of Amesys and of its two executives. The nullity requested as well as the indictments of the employees have been dismissed.
In 2023, the investigative judges issued a decision refusing to carry out several investigative acts requested by the defense and the prosecutor, deeming that these acts were not necessary to the investigation. Both the defense and the prosecutor have appealed the judges’ refusal. As a result, the Paris Court of Appeal partially overturned this decision and ordered the investigative judges to proceed with some of the requested investigative acts.
A technical expert was appointed by the investigative judges to carry out the expert analysis.