Mobile Operator, MTN has been named in a lawsuit filed in a top US court for allegedly supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan by making payments for protection.
MTN is just one of the eight multinational companies named in the lawsuit.
They are being charged with aiding the terrorist group by deactivating their cellular network at night on request of the Taliban.
The complaint was filed in the United States District Court for the District of Colombia on December 27 on behalf of 385 Americans, including families of US servicemen killed in Afghanistan.
The lawsuit seeks justice for U.S. military members and civilians killed or wounded in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2017.
In a statement released by MTN, it read: “MTN is reviewing the details of the report and is consulting its advisers but remains of the view that it conducts its business in a responsible and compliant manner in all its territories and so intends to defend its position where necessary,”
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According to a statement by Sparacino PLLC, one of the law firms that filed the complaint, MTN and the other defendants are accused of “knowingly or recklessly supporting a terrorist campaign that attacked, killed, and wounded thousands of Americans in Afghanistan.”
The plaintiff said “In or about 2008, the Taliban began demanding that Afghanistan’s major cellular-phone providers switch off their towers at night. The Taliban justified that demand by arguing that coalition forces were ‘using the cellular networks to track its insurgents throughout the war-torn country,”
MTN spokeswoman Nompilo Morafo said the company could not yet respond directly to the specific allegations in the report as it was still going through the details.
Nompilo said “We cannot comment further than what we’ve said in the statement.
“We want a chance to review the allegations. We only received the suit on Friday and we’re still going through it.
“I also can’t confirm how long it’s going to take,”