Qatar Government ‘not tapping Blackberry’
An official at the Cyber Crime Unit at the Interior Ministry denied that Qatar was tapping phones, any other telecommunication devices or blocking political websites attacking the country.
Speaking to the Lakom Al Karar TV programme, Captain Ali al-Kobeisi, an officer at Cyber Crime Unit, who was answering a question whether the government was tapping Blackberry devices, said that the Interior Ministry did not establish the Anti-Cyber Crimes Unit for eavesdropping on people, but to protect them.
“We do not tap phones, Blackberry devices or discussion forum websites. We do not eavesdrop on anyone. This unit is not for tapping. But everyone should take the responsibility when if he commits a crime,” Captain al-Kobeisi told the TV episode screened on Saturday via Qatar TV.
To a question by the Lakom Al Karar’s anchor Mohamed al-Marri about an alleged involvement of the in3terior ministry in a recent blocking of a Qatari online newspaper, the official denied that Qatar blocked any websites for their political content, even those which were found to be critical of the country’s policies, saying that his unit did not get any instructions to block such websites.
