LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Saudi human rights activist who accuses Saudi Arabia of targeting him with spyware and directing his assault on the streets of London was awarded just over 3 million
UK Court Awards Saudi Dissident £3 Million for Hacking and Assault
Legal Victory for Human Rights Activist
LONDON, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Saudi human rights activist who accuses Saudi Arabia of targeting him with spyware and directing his assault on the streets of London was awarded just over 3 million pounds ($4.1 million) in damages by London's High Court on Monday.
Background of the Case
Ghanem Al-Masarir, whose YouTube channels featuring criticism of the Saudi government have been viewed millions of times, sued Saudi Arabia in 2019, alleging the kingdom used Pegasus spyware to hack his mobile phones in June 2018.
Court Ruling Details
Al-Masarir, also known as Ghanem al-Dosari, was then attacked in London in August 2018 by two men who asked him who he was to talk about the ruling al-Saud family, his lawyers say.
Implications of the Verdict
The 45-year-old satirist, who has lived in Britain since 2003 and been granted asylum, said discovering he had been hacked caused severe depression and effectively ended his lucrative work producing YouTube content.
Saudi Arabia had tried to throw out his lawsuit, arguing it had state immunity, but its argument was rejected by the High Court in 2022. The kingdom took no part in the litigation after the Court of Appeal rejected its appeal from that decision.
Judge Pushpinder Saini awarded Al-Masarir on Monday a total of just over three million pounds, including nearly 2.6 million pounds to cover losses relating to lost YouTube earnings.
The judge said in his ruling that "there is a compelling basis for concluding that (Al-Masarir's) iPhones were hacked by Pegasus spyware", which is sold only to nation states, and that this was directed by Saudi Arabia or agents on its behalf.
Saini also found it was more likely than not that Saudi Arabia was responsible for the physical assault on Al-Masarir, citing the kingdom's "clear interest in and motivation to shut down (Al-Masarir's) public criticism of the Saudi government".
He ruled in Al-Masarir's favour without a trial, saying that Saudi Arabia "appears to have made a considered decision to ignore these proceedings".
Saudi Arabia's embassy in London did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
($1 = 0.7314 pounds)
(Reporting by Sam Tobin, Editing by William Maclean)
