Brazilian newspaper, Folha de S. Paulo, reported the surveillance on embassy officials while they were in the capital, Brasilia, over a decade ago based on intelligence service documents they obtained from an anonymous source, the Associateds Press reported.
The Brazilian government confirmed the accusations on Monday and said it's intelligence service Abin spied on United States, Russian, Iranian and Iraqi diplomats, the AP reported. The statement also said Brazil's Institutional Security Cabinet planned to prosecute anyone who may have leaked the documents.
The surveillance described is small in comparison to the spy programs carried out by the U.S. in Brazil which were leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden, according to the AP. The Abin intelligence service is managed by Brazil's Institutional Security Cabinet who claims all operations cited by the Folha "follow Brazilian law for the protection of national interests," the AP reported.
The statement also said Abin "develops intelligence activities for the defense" of Brazil and for "national sovereignty, in strict observance of constitutional principles and the laws that guarantee individual rights."
President Dilma Rousseff said the NSA spying program, in comparison, spied on billions of citizen's calls and emails, a complete violation of human rights, the AP reported. Brazil joined Germany last week in asking the United Nations General Assembly to adopt a resolution which would protect a country's rights to privacy under international law, according to the AP.
The first draft of the resolution states "illegal surveillance and interception of communications as well as the illegal collection of personal data constitute a highly intrusive act that violates the right to privacy and freedom of expression and may threaten the foundations of a democratic society."
The documents obtained by the Folha stated the intelligence agency constantly monitored the space rented by U.S. Embassy in Brasilia, claiming they suspected the space of harboring spy equipment, the AP reported. The report said Abin had concluded that the offices held "communications equipment."
The spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Brazil Dean Cheves did not comment on Abin's surveillance, the AP reported, but he said the office served as "a relay station for walkie-talkie radios carried by embassy personnel, who carry the radios as back up communications for emergencies or in case cellphone service goes down."
The documents also show Russian, Iranian and Iraqi diplomats being photographed as they came and went different locations, and particularly targeted Russian officials who were negotiating an arms deal in Brazil at the time, the AP reported.
