● Covered by 1 source · 1 reportMedium impact1 neutral
UK Supreme Court Rejects Bahrain's Immunity Claim in Spyware Lawsuit
Key points
- UK Supreme Court rejected Bahrain's state immunity claim.
- Lawsuit alleges Bahrain used FinSpy spyware on dissidents' devices.
- The alleged hacking occurred in the UK.
- Dissidents seek damages for mental harm.
Court Rejects Immunity Plea
The United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled on Monday that Bahrain cannot use state immunity to prevent a lawsuit brought by two dissidents. The lawsuit alleges that the Bahraini government infected their devices with spyware, causing mental harm.
Allegations of Spyware Use
Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed claim Bahrain secretly installed FinSpy spyware on their laptops, likely in 2011. They allege that government agents then spied on them while they worked with Bahraini political prisoners, journalists, and torture victims. The court opinion stated that this conduct, involving wide-ranging and intrusive monitoring, met the criteria for illegal harassment.
Basis of the Lawsuit
The men, now residing in the U.K., filed a lawsuit seeking damages from Bahrain for the mental harm they experienced. They reportedly learned of their devices being infected around August 2014 through WikiLeaks reports and a Bahraini watchdog organization. Bahrain has consistently denied these hacking claims.
Supreme Court's Decision
Bahrain's leaders appealed to the U.K. Supreme Court with their state immunity claim last year. The court rejected this argument in a 3-2 decision, concluding that state immunity does not apply because the alleged hacking occurred within the U.K. FinSpy, also known as FinFisher, is described as sophisticated spyware sold exclusively to governments for intelligence and law enforcement purposes.
✨ This summary was generated by AI from the outlets' reporting listed below. It is not independently verified and may contain errors — check the original sources. How BrevFeed works →
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Reporting from
The UK Supreme Court ruled that Bahrain cannot claim state immunity to block a lawsuit filed by two dissidents who allege the government infected their devices with FinSpy spyware. This decision allows the lawsuit, seeking damages for mental harm from alleged hacking that occurred in the UK, to proceed.