Nokia Siemens Networks (NSN) is being sued by two Iranian citizens, which are alleging “human rights violations committed by the Iranian government through the aid of spying centres which were provided by Nokia Siemens Networks.” The action has been brought by Isa Saharkhiz and his son Mehdi Saharkhiz, the former of which was described by his legal representatives as a “prominent Iranian journalist and political activist,” who was “arrested as a result of the surveillance and monitoring of his cell phone communications in the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election in Iran.” In addition to NSN, the case also names Nokia and Siemens as defendants, in their roles as parent companies to the telecoms infrastructure supplier.

The lawsuit calls for NSN to stop “all unlawful support of intercepting centres of the Iranian government”  and to “help secure the release of Isa Saharkhiz through the use of [its] connections with the Iranian government,” and also requests measures that will “prevent the defendants from harming others in the future in other similarly situated countries like Iran.” In a statement, the vendor said that it is aware of the action, but that it will not comment “without having had a chance to study the complaint along with our co-defendants Nokia and Siemens.” It did, however, note that “the misuse of communication technologies, intended for legitimate use, to infringe human rights is wrong…It is those who misuse technology who must be accountable for their actions.” The current lawsuit is not the first time that NSN’s activities in Iran have been in the spotlight: in June 2009 it was revealed that NSN had supplied the Iranian authorities with “lawful intercept” capabilites as part of a wider network equipment supply deal.