Court of Appeal Denies Bahrain's State Immunity in Spyware Lawsuit

The UK Court of Appeal ruled Bahrain cannot invoke state immunity to halt a lawsuit by dissidents accusing its government of computer hacking. Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed allege spyware was used to monitor their activities. The court affirmed unauthorized state actions breach UK's territorial sovereignty.

The UK Court of Appeal determined that Bahrain is not entitled to state immunity in a legal battle pursued by two dissidents accusing the kingdom of hacking their laptops.

Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed claim surveillance software FinSpy was employed to track their political activities. Their computers were allegedly infected in 2011, enabling Bahraini agents to monitor their work with political prisoners.

The verdict emphasized that any foreign state infringing on UK-based computers contravenes the nation's territorial sovereignty, even if some activities occur outside UK borders. The ruling was described as a victory for justice by Shehabi. The Bahraini government, however, dismisses the allegations as baseless and continues to contest the claims in court.

(With inputs from agencies.)