Pro-democracy activists have urged the Czech government to investigate a Prague-based digital forensics company for selling phone-hacking software to the Myanmar junta’s police force in violation of EU law.
Justice for Myanmar said Compelson s.r.o. sold multiple licences of MOBILedit Forensic Pro software to the Myanmar police. The software is used to extract data from mobile phones, including bypassing security protections and retrieving deleted data from messenger apps.
JFM warned the app enables the regime “to target, surveil, and arbitrarily detain those it deems a threat.”
Many of those arrested by the junta have reported having their phones confiscated and accessed during torturous interrogations before lengthy prison sentences for their anti-regime activism, the group said.
JFM said it has seen numerous emails that Compelson sent to the Myanmar police’s Cybercrime Division encouraging the purchase of licence renewals.
One email a Compelson International Business Development staff sent to Myanmar police in July 2021—a few months after the coup—encouraged them to update their software to enable “direct reading” from Apple Watch and to access Linux, Android, and mobile device vulnerabilities.
“MOBILedit Forensic Pro appears to fall under Category 5A004 of the EU Dual Use List, which covers systems designed to extract raw data from devices and circumvent authentication. It may previously have fallen under Article 3(b) of Council Regulation (EU) 2018/647 of 26 April 2018 concerning restrictive measures in respect of Myanmar/Burma,” the group warned.
Such technology requires an export license for Myanmar and, depending on the date of the transfer, probably violates the embargo.
JFM already reported Compelson to the EU in February 2024 through the bloc’s Sanctions Whistleblower Tool but has not yet received a response.
JFM spokeswoman Yadanar Maung said the Czech government must investigate whether Compelson violated Czech and EU law and ensure accountability as the junta “is using surveillance and digital forensics technology to target, arrest, torture, and murder activists and journalists, abuses that could have been aided by Compelson software.”
Compelson’s owner Dušan Kožušník earlier insisted the software was sold to Myanmar before the coup. He also claimed that it would not require export permission in any case as it cannot break passwords or recover deleted data—contradicting the company’s own marketing materials.
But Yadanar Maung said the evidence uncovered by JFM shows Compelson engaged with the Myanmar police even after the coup.
JFM called on the Czech government to ensure “that EU regulations on Myanmar are strictly enforced to prevent the flow of arms, dual-use goods, and technology from reaching the military junta.”
