Mohamad al-Bokari: I am a victim of digital targeting in the Middle East and North Africa | Human Rights Watch

Mohamad al-Bokari: I'm A Victim Of Digital Targeting In The Middle East And North Africa Region

Government officials across the Middle East and North Africa region are targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people based on their online activity on social media, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today.

Government officials in the Middle East and North Africa are targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people based on their online social media activities, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Security forces have trapped LGBT people on social media and dating apps, subjected them to online extortion, online harassment and outing, and relied on illegally obtained digital photos, chats and similar information for law enforcement, in violation of the right to privacy and other human rights .

The 153-page report, 'All This Terror Due of a Photo': Digital Targeting and Its Offline Consequences for LGBT People in the Middle East and North Africa, examines the use of digital targeting by security forces and its widespread offline consequences — including arbitrary detention and torture - in five countries: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and Tunisia. The results show how security forces are using digital targeting to collect and create evidence to support law enforcement.

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