Norwegian state-controlled telecoms operator Telenor has been charged by Norwegian authorities with complicity in crimes against humanity and breaching sanctions in connection with its operations in Myanmar following the country's 2021 military coup. Norwegian police allege that Telenor Myanmar repeatedly handed over historical customer traffic data to the military regime between 2021 and 2022, during a period when the junta was allegedly responsible for widespread abuses against civilians. Local human rights groups allege that troops loyal to junta leader General Min Aung Hlaing killed more than 1,500 people and arrested over 12,000 in the year following the coup, with police routinely seizing detainees' mobile phones to extract personal information — raising serious concerns about how surrendered customer data may have been used against rights-holders. A separate charge relates to alleged sanctions breaches, specifically the inclusion of sanctions-hit surveillance equipment in the sale of Telenor's Myanmar subsidiary, which was not approved by the Norwegian foreign ministry. Telenor wrote off its entire $782mn investment in Myanmar and sold the business in March 2022, despite warnings from activists that its withdrawal would further endanger the civilian population. No individuals have been charged. Telenor said it would co-operate fully with the investigation, stating: "The military coup was a tragedy for the people of Myanmar, in which we found ourselves placed in an impossible situation with no good alternatives. Employees risked imprisonment, torture or the death penalty if the military authorities' orders were not complied with. We found that we had no real choice, and that we could not put our employees' lives at risk." Advocacy group Justice for Myanmar, which filed the original complaint to Norwegian police, welcomed the charges, saying: "We welcome these charges against Telenor for the serious harm they caused in Myanmar and through their dangerous disengagement. We hope this will finally lead to accountability."