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UN Special Rapporteur on HRDs Condemns Targeting Phones of Ibtisam Al-Saegh and Hala Deeb with Pegasus

2022-01-20 - 10:19 p

Bahrain Mirror (Exclusive): Mary Lawlor, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, posted a tweet condemning the violations practiced against female human rights defenders through Pegasus program.

"Deeply disturbing reports of Women Human Rights Defenders targeted with Pegasus in Bahrain and Jordan," Lawlor said.

Lawlor retweeted Ibtisam Al-Saegh tweet in which she said that "fear has restricted my work. I am constantly anxious and afraid that I have put others at risk because of their contact with me."

A new investigation led by Front Line Defenders revealed the hacking of two women human rights defenders from Bahrain and Jordan using NSO Group's notorious Pegasus spyware.

The report prepared by Digital Protection Coordinator, Middle East and North Africa, Mohammed Al-Maskati, confirmed that the phone of  Bahraini activist Ibtisam Al-Saegh has been hacked at least 8 times in 2019.

The hacking discovery comes on the heels of the Pegasus Project revelations of governments in the MENA region and beyond using the spyware to perpetrate human rights abuses and repress activists and journalists.

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