Dubai Sheikh uses NSO Group's Pegasus spyware to hack ex-wife Dubai ruler and vice president of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum, ordered the hacking of the phones of his ex-wife and her lawyers as part of a "sustained campaign of intimidation and threats" during their legal battle over custody of their children, England's High Court ruled today.
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According to the ruling, al-Maktoum used sophisticated spyware Pegasus developed by Israeli company NSO to hack the phones of Princess Haya bint al-Hussein and some of her associates. Haya is the half-sister of King Abdullah of Jordan.
The people who were working on behalf of the sheikh also tried to buy a mansion right next to that of the princess, near the British capital, with the court judging that it was a «intimidating» action that made her feel hunted, unsafe and that «she can no longer breathe».
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Nineteen months ago the same court ruled that Al-Maktoum had kidnapped two of his daughters, abused them and kept them against their will.
"The findings constitute a complete breach of trust and indeed a significant abuse of power," Judge Andrew McFarlane, the chairman of the family court for England and Wales, said in the ruling.
The chief rejected the court's conclusions, arguing that they are based on an incomplete picture. “I have always denied the allegations against me and I continue to reject them. Moreover, these findings were based on evidence that was not disclosed to me or my advisors. Therefore, I maintain that they were drawn in an unfair manner», he said in his announcement.
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Seikh Mohammed, 72, and the 47-year-old Princess Haga have become involved in a long, tough and costly custody battle for their children since she left for Britain with two of them, the 13-year-old Jalila and the 9-year-old Zaygent. Haga says she was afraid for her safety as they suspected she had entered into a relationship with one of her British bodyguards.
Among those who became targets of hackers was Fiona Shackleton, a lawyer from the Hague and a member of the House of Lords. Shackleton had represented Prince Charles, the heir to the British throne, in his divorce from his first wife, the late Princess Diana.
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In court it was recorded that this activity was uncovered last August, when Sakleton was informed by Chery Bler, the wife of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, that she and her client were being monitored. Chery Bler is also a lawyer and worked as an external consultant for the NSO company.
During the same period, a cyber security specialist from the online observatory Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto also informed the Hague lawyers after detecting the hack.
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The princess's lawyers said that after the hack was revealed, NSO suspended its contract with the United Arab Emirates. The Israeli company stated that it is not in a position to comment on the case but that it is taking measures as soon as it perceives that the Pegasus program is being abused.
Sackleton and Bler also refrained from making any comment.
Sheikh al Maktoum is considered the visionary behind Dubai's emergence as a global commercial hub. There is no indication that last year's court decision harmed him personally or the UAE. Last month, Britain and the UAE announced a new, commercial and investment «ambitious Corporate Relationship for the Future»», worth several billions of dollars.
The legal costs from the «battle» of the two former spouses amount to millions of pounds. The court reported that only the cost of one appeal reached 2.5 million sterling.
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Sheikh, who is vice president and prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, initially demanded that his children be sent back to Dubai, but the British courts have not ruled in his favor to date. McFarland, with his current decision, ruled that the children must live with their mother.
In another ruling, which was made public last March, the judge estimated that Al Maktoum subjected Haji to a «bullying campaign» resulting in her fearing for her life. He also concluded that in the year 2000 the sheikh had arranged for Sam's daughter, who was 18 at the time, to be abducted from the streets of Cambridge and taken back to Dubai.
He also ruled that it was proven that in 2018 the sheikh ensured that the younger sister of Sam's, Latifa, was abducted from a vessel sailing on international waters, in the open sea of India, and taken to the emirate. These findings do not equate to proof of a criminal offense on the part of the father but show that Al Maktoum “who is the head of the UAE government, is ready to use the hand of the state to achieve what he considers right»,” the judge said. “He has harassed and intimidated the mother both before her departure for England and after. He is willing to allow those acting on his behalf to do so illegally within the UAE»,” he added.
Source: protothema.gr
