17 journalists join RSF’s complaint against NSO over Pegasus spyware

Published August 7, 2021
Pegasus is a spyware developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli cyber-arms firm. It can be covertly installed on mobile phones running most versions of iOS and Android. AP/File
Pegasus is a spyware developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli cyber-arms firm. It can be covertly installed on mobile phones running most versions of iOS and Android. AP/File

KARACHI: Seventeen journalists from seven countries who were listed last month as potential or actual victims of Pegasus spyware have filed complaints with prosecutors in Paris against the NSO Group.

Their complaints complement the one Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and two journalists with French-Moroccan dual nationality have already filed on July 20.

In addition, the RSF has referred their cases to the United Nations. The organisation had even included NSO Group in its list of “digital predators” last year.

Pegasus is a spyware developed by the NSO Group, an Israeli cyber-arms firm. It can be covertly installed on mobile phones running most versions of iOS and Android.

The 17 journalists – two each from Azerbaijan and Hungary, five each from India and Mexico, and one each from Morocco, Spain and Togo – were among the nearly 200 journalists on a list of persons identified last month by the Pegasus Project investigation as potential targets or actual victims of clandestine surveillance by NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware.

The plaintiffs know, or have serious grounds, for fearing that they were spied on by their governments for having carried out independent reporting in public interest.

A number of the plaintiffs have been facing verbal attacks by their governments for years. Among them are Morocco’s Hicham Mansouri and India’s Swati Chaturvedi, who was awarded the RSF Press Freedom Prize for Courage in 2018.

The RSF referred her case to the UN the same year.

Some were even spied on by foreign governments. They include Spain’s Ignacio Cembrero, who was almost certainly the victim of surveillance by the government of Morocco.

“No doubts must remain”

“The complaints filed by these journalists, who are from every continent, confirm the scale of the surveillance carried out with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware,” RSF spokesperson Pauline Adès-Mével said.

“The investigation should identify all those involved, whether company executives or senior government officials in the countries concerned. In the face of a scandal so fraught with consequences for press freedom, no doubts must remain. The veil must be lifted completely and justice must be done.”

The RSF has referred the cases of these 17 journalists to four UN special rapporteurs, asking them to seek explanations from the governments suspected of using Pegasus to spy on journalists.

Published in Dawn, August 7th, 2021

Opinion

Editorial

System failure
Updated 12 Nov, 2024

System failure

Relevant institutions often treat right to internet connectivity with the same disdain as they do civil and political rights.
Narrowing the gap
12 Nov, 2024

Narrowing the gap

PERHAPS a pat on the back is in order for the ECP. Together with Nadra, it has made visible efforts to reduce...
Back on their feet
12 Nov, 2024

Back on their feet

A STIRRING comeback in the series has ended Pakistan’s 22-year wait for victory against world champions Australia....
Time to deliver
Updated 11 Nov, 2024

Time to deliver

Pakistan must display a serious commitment to climate change adaptation and mitigation at home.
Smaller government
11 Nov, 2024

Smaller government

THE IMF bailout programme has put the government under pressure to curtail its spending, especially current...
Unsafe inheritance
11 Nov, 2024

Unsafe inheritance

DESPITE regulations, the troubling practice of robbing women of their rightful inheritance — the culprits are ...