Saudi authorities rejected the latest allegations on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman.
Amazon
chief Jeff Bezos's phone was likely infected by spyware hidden in a
message from Saudi
Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, according to an analysis
released Wednesday, prompting calls for an official investigation.
A
forensic analysis by technical experts retained by Bezos after a leak
of his personal information in early 2019 suggested that the Bezos
iPhone was compromised by "tools" procured by a close
associate of the Saudi de facto ruler.
The
suggestion of the Saudi prince's role in the hacking prompted calls
for further investigation by UN human rights officials looking into
the October 2018 killing of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and
contributor to The Washington Post, which is owned by Bezos.
"The
alleged hacking of Mr Bezos's phone, and those of others, demands
immediate investigation by US and other relevant authorities,"
UN Special Rapporteurs Agnes Callamard and David Kaye said in a
statement in Geneva.
Any
investigation should also look at the "continuous, multi-year,
direct and personal involvement of the Crown Prince in efforts to
target perceived opponents," they added.
Callamard,
the UN expert on summary executions and extrajudicial killings, and
Kaye, the expert on freedom of expression, said the latest revelation
"suggests the possible involvement of the Crown Prince in
surveillance of Mr Bezos, in an effort to influence, if not silence,
The Washington Post's reporting on Saudi Arabia."
The
technical experts hired by Bezos concluded "with medium to high
confidence that Bezos' iPhone was compromised via malware sent from a
WhatsApp account used by Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed bin Salman,"
said the report by FTI Consulting, first reported by the online news
site Vice.
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