Bahrain loses state immunity bid in dissidents’ spyware lawsuit in UK

LONDON (Reuters) -Bahrain cannot claim state immunity to block a lawsuit brought in Britain by two dissidents who say its government hacked their laptops with spyware, the High Court in London ruled on Wednesday.

Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed say Bahrain infected their computers with surveillance software called FinSpy, which allowed agents to take control of their laptops, access their files and monitor their communications.

The software also allows users to enable microphones and cameras on electronic devices to conduct live surveillance and to track their location, they say.

Shehabi and Mohammed, who both live in Britain, say Bahrain infected their laptops with FinSpy in around 2011, which allowed the kingdom to monitor their work with political prisoners in Bahrain, and are seeking damages for “psychiatric harm”.

Bahrain denies hacking Shehabi and Mohammed’s laptops and says they have provided no evidence of how their computers were alleged to have been infected.

The kingdom had argued it was entitled to state immunity because any alleged hacking did not take place in Britain and that the psychiatric injuries claimed did not amount to personal injuries, for which there is an exception to state immunity in English law.

But Judge Julian Knowles dismissed Bahrain’s application, meaning Shehabi and Mohammed’s case can proceed in London.

“This decision demonstrates that we can prevail in our fight for justice and that our voices will not be muzzled by the Bahraini regime’s reprisals or intimidation,” Mohammed said in a written statement.

A spokesperson for the Bahraini government said it was disappointed with the ruling and intended to appeal.

(Reporting by Sam Tobin; Editing by Alex Richardson)