Welcome to Assignment on the BBC World Service. I'm No.

I'm Nawa'L Magaffi.

My colleagues and I in BBC Arabic have been involved in a year-long investigation

into the sale of mass surveillance equipment to governments across the Middle East.

Much of this technology, which is covered by the same international laws as military equipment,

has come from a British company.

It's an important tool in the fight against terrorism,

but we hear how it may have been used by repressive governments

to silence dissent and human rights

campaigners. It raises important ethical questions about how weapons exports

are regulated and controlled, particularly since we've also found evidence of the export of technology to these governments,

which some say could threaten the national security of the UK and its allies.

Our story begins in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. I've come here to meet Ahmed Mansour.

He's an activist who was imprisoned for tweeting about abuses by the UAE government.

It's spent so much money targeting him that he's become known as the million dollar dissident.

The feeling of being watched is horrible.

You cannot move so you lose your freedom.

It's a violation of one's privacy. It's like having a

stranger in your bedroom."

Ahmed was protesting against unfair trials and arbitrary detention. He was also

charged with insulting the nation's leadership.

In March this year, I heard that Ahmed had disappeared.

...