The High Court in London issued an order that Yahya Assiri can serve his claim on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia after an application by the Media and Information law team at Bindmans LLP.

By granting permission to serve out on the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Court agrees that there is an arguable case against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Yahya Assiri is a pro-democracy and human rights activist. He is a founding member, and the former Secretary General, of the National Assembly Party, a Saudi opposition party and the founder of ALQST for Human Rights, a non-governmental organisation which works to promote and defend human rights in Saudi Arabia.

Between 2018 and 2020, Assiri’s mobile devices were targeted and infected by Pegasus and QuaDream spyware, according to independent analysis by The Citizen Lab, an interdisciplinary laboratory based at the University of Toronto, Canada.

Pegasus, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, and QuaDream, another form of surveillance spyware, were allegedly used by Saudi authorities to covertly extract and monitor sensitive data from Assiri’s devices.

The spyware potentially enabled the Saudi government to access a wide range of data, including text messages, calls, location information, photos, and files. It also gave them the ability to intercept voice calls, activate device microphones to record ambient sounds, take photos, and track Assiri’s movements.

Assiri is now pursuing legal action, bringing claims of misuse of private information, harassment, and trespass to goods. The case highlights the serious privacy and security threats posed by state-sponsored cyberattacks, particularly against activists and dissidents.

Monika Sobiecki, Partner at Bindmans LLP said:

This is a huge moment for Yahya Assiri’s case, where the High Court has accepted our evidence that Yahya has a reasonable prospect of winning his claim against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, and thus has granted permission for the claim to be served out on the state. The High Court has thus sent a powerful signal that states cannot shroud their conduct with secrecy and avoid accountability for the transnational repression of dissidents.

Yahya Assiri said:

I am fully aware that the authorities will want to target me. However, it is outrageous for them also to target individuals such as the victims of rights abuses and their families in Saudi Arabia simply because these people have been in contact with me. We have no idea how the authorities might use the information found on my device against them.

This story has been covered by Global Legal Group, you can read the full article here.

This story has been covered by Reuters, you can read the full article here.