"Czech tech firm under fire for software supply to Myanmar Junta, denies sanctions breach", 19 April 2025

A Czech technology firm is facing scrutiny after an investigation revealed it supplied mobile phone data extraction software to the Myanmar junta, raising questions about compliance with European Union (EU) sanctions. The software, developed by Prague-based Compelson, enables authorities to extract detailed information from smartphones — a capability that human rights activists say has been used by the junta to target, interrogate, and imprison pro-democracy activists.

The Czech Broadcasting Company (Radiožurnál) uncovered a trove of email communications showing that Compelson continued to correspond with Myanmar police agencies after the military seized power in a February 2021 coup. These emails include technical support instructions and license renewal notices for MobilEdit Forensic PRO — a forensic tool that can extract contact lists, messages, call histories, and even deleted files from a smartphone.

Dušan Kožušník, the owner of Compelson, defended the company’s actions, arguing that the software provided did not breach EU sanctions because it could not hack passwords or retrieve deleted data. These functions, he claims, are found only in more advanced versions. “These versions cannot hack phones,” Kožušník told Radiožurnál. “They cannot do anything that a camera cannot do.”

Yet testimony collected by Radiožurnál paints a grim picture of how mobile phone data has been weaponized by the Myanmar junta to carry out sweeping crackdowns. ...

Shin Shin, a rights defender still operating clandestinely in Yangon, related to Radiožurnál how authorities routinely extract data from Telegram, Viber, and Signal during interrogations — including deleted conversations and photos. She noted that since 2022, surveillance efforts have become more precise. “Arrests are no longer random, but precisely targeted,” she said, describing how investigators now combine phone data with CCTV footage to identify and capture junta opponents.

Myanmar-based activists have called on the European Commission to investigate potential breaches of the EU’s embargo, which prohibits the export of “communications monitoring equipment that could be used for internal repression.” But Czech officials appear to be passing the buck. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Radiožurnál it would have opposed the export if consulted, but confirmed that Compelson never applied for a license. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Industry and the Financial Analytical Office declined to comment, citing confidentiality rules.

Kožušník insists the export occurred before the 2021 coup and emphasized Compelson’s public support for Ukraine as evidence of its moral standing. ...

Sinologist and analyst David Gardáš from the Sinopsis project warned Radiožurnál that legal ambiguity around dual-use technologies — civilian tools that can be misused for military or repressive purposes — leaves loopholes that unscrupulous actors can exploit. “We must be aware of how these tools can be misused and take more decisive action,” Gardáš said.

While Kožušník maintains that the software version supplied does not fall under EU export restrictions, he told Radiožurnál that Compelson has since blocked access to future updates for Myanmar users, a move critics say is too little, too late.

As the civil conflict in Myanmar continues to escalate, with thousands killed and millions displaced, this case underscores the urgent need for stricter oversight and accountability in the global trade of surveillance technology. The supply of such tools, even under seemingly legal circumstances, can have devastating consequences in the hands of authoritarian regimes.

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