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| Europe |
| Swiss Now Require Purchasers of Pre-Paid Phone Cards to Identify Themselves |
| 2004-03-04 |
| Mobile phone operators have been ordered to register pre-paid customers in a bid to clamp down on terrorism. The decision by the Swiss parliament follows revelations that senior al-Qaeda members had used pre-paid cards bought in Switzerland to coordinate their activities. Previously, customers were not required to give any personal details when buying a card. Phone companies will have to keep this information for two years after the card is purchased. The move comes days after Swiss authorities revealed they had evidence that senior members of Osama bin Laden’s al-Qaeda network used Swiss Subscriber Identity Module – or SIM – cards to communicate with each other. "During the investigations we have discovered that [the cards] were used not only by the perpetrators of the [September 11] attacks but also by senior members of the [al-Qaeda] hierarchy," deputy federal prosecutor Claude Nicati said over the weekend. The Federal Prosecutor’s Office has refused to confirm speculation that Bern provided information to US intelligence that led to the arrest of Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the suspected number three al-Qaeda leader and mastermind of the attacks. The revelations are thought to have won over parliamentarians previously opposed to the proposal; the vote was passed by 124 to 27. Switzerland will become only the fourth European country to introduce such regulations, along with Germany, Hungary and Italy. However, opponents said the new regulations would not deter terrorists and other criminals, as they would still be able to buy pre-paid cards in other countries, including the US, without fear of being traced..... |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #1 So how is this going to deal with Al Q and other terrorists who have nothing but fake identities, unless the calls can be quickly traced to location? Now we are talking real time data gathering issues. |
| Posted by: Alaska Paul 2004-3-4 11:39:17 PM |