Thai political activists sue government over phone hacking

By Alperen Aktas

ISTANBUL (AA) – Two Thai political activists sued their government for using the Pegasus spyware to hack their phones during pro-democracy protests in late 2020 and early 2021.

Yingcheep Atchanont and Arnon Nampa filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, accusing nine government agencies, including the Prime Minister's Office, of violating their privacy, the local daily Prachatai reported.

Yingcheep said on Facebook that they learned about the spyware after receiving a notification from Apple.

He sent his phone to a laboratory in Canada to check if the information had been stolen.

After receiving confirmation that spying had been done on the phone, he asked John Scott-Railton, a cybersecurity expert, how he could sue the government.

Their complaint states their phone was infiltrated 10 times during the protests.

Pro-democracy protests in Thailand erupted in late 2020 and early 2021, demanding Prime Minister Prayuth's resignation and reforms of the monarchy. However, the campaign lost momentum when Thailand was struck by a second wave of COVID-19.

In 2021, it was revealed that Israel-based NSO Group's spyware "Pegasus" monitored more than 50,000 phones worldwide.

Thereupon, the European Parliament established a special committee for investigation. The US government banned the import and use of Pegasus. Technology giant Apple also sued the NSO Group.