Bahrain fails to claim state immunity over spyware lawsuits

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Feb 11:41
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The Bahrain government is facing a new legal challenge over the hacking of two dissidents after the High Court in London ruled that it could not claim state immunity in the case.

A picture shows the Royal Court of Justice (High Court) in London. (AFP)

The High Court in London ruled, on Wednesday, that Bahrain cannot invoke state immunity to prevent a case brought in Britain by two dissidents accusing their government of hacking their laptops with spyware.

Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed reported that the Bahraini regime hacked into their computers with German-made FinSpy spying software, allowing agents to take control of their laptops, view their files, and monitor their chats.

The program also allows users to enable microphones and cameras on electronic gadgets to perform live surveillance and track their whereabouts.

Shehabi and Mohammed, who both live in Britain, believe Bahrain infected their PCs with FinSpy in around 2011, which allowed the regime to monitor their work with political detainees in Bahrain, demanding damages for "psychiatric harm".

On its account, the Bahraini regime denies hacking Shehabi and Mohammed's laptops and claims there is no evidence of how their systems were infected.

However, Judge Julian Knowles denied Bahrain's application, allowing Shehabi and Mohammed's case to continue in London.

In a written statement, Mohammed said, "This decision demonstrates that we can prevail in our fight for justice and that our voices will not be muzzled by the Bahraini regime's reprisals or intimidation."

The Bahraini regime has long been under fire for repeated human rights violations; nevertheless, it seems that spyware has opened up new avenues for Bahraini repression. Added to the violations the Bahraini regime continues to commit against its people, many cases have unmasked the use of spyware most notably the notorious Pegasus spyware from the Israeli NSO Group.

The Bahraini regime used Pegasus to infect the devices of several activists in Bahrain, revealing once again how dangerous the spyware is to critics of repressive governments.