UN experts said they are "gravely concerned" by information they have received suggesting that a WhatsApp account belonging to Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman was used to deliver spyware to the mobile phone of Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos.
"The information we have received 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 experts said in a statement Wednesday.
The statement was released by UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, who specializes in extrajudicial killings and conducted an investigation into the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and David Kaye, a UN special rapporteur focused on freedom of expression. The pair called for an investigation into the allegations.
The UN experts released their statement after media outlets including CNN Business reported that a forensics team hired by Bezos had concluded that the CEO's mobile phone had been compromised and that the hack originated from an account controlled by bin Salman. A source told CNN that the forensics team had reached its conclusion with "medium to high" confidence. The story was first reported by The Guardian.
Tuesday night, before the UN experts released their statement, Bezos declined through a representative to comment to CNN Business on the Guardian's story. Amazon (AMZN) declined to comment when contacted by CNN Business. Facebook (FB), which owns WhatsApp, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN experts' statement; nor did a lawyer who represents Bezos.
On Wednesday, Bezos tweeted a photo of himself attending a memorial service for Khashoggi in 2019.
The photo marked Bezos's first public remark since reports of the WhatsApp breach came to light.
The revelation casts a new shadow over the future king, whose efforts to overhaul Saudi Arabia's economy and attract foreign investment have been frustrated by global concern over his alleged role in the murder of Khashoggi in the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Sources previously told CNN that the CIA has concluded that bin Salman personally ordered the killing, which bin Salman has consistently denied.
Read more at: Saudi Arabia denies it hacked Jeff Bezos' phone after media report implicates crown prince - CNN
"The information we have received 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 experts said in a statement Wednesday.
The statement was released by UN special rapporteur Agnes Callamard, who specializes in extrajudicial killings and conducted an investigation into the murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and David Kaye, a UN special rapporteur focused on freedom of expression. The pair called for an investigation into the allegations.
The UN experts released their statement after media outlets including CNN Business reported that a forensics team hired by Bezos had concluded that the CEO's mobile phone had been compromised and that the hack originated from an account controlled by bin Salman. A source told CNN that the forensics team had reached its conclusion with "medium to high" confidence. The story was first reported by The Guardian.
Tuesday night, before the UN experts released their statement, Bezos declined through a representative to comment to CNN Business on the Guardian's story. Amazon (AMZN) declined to comment when contacted by CNN Business. Facebook (FB), which owns WhatsApp, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the UN experts' statement; nor did a lawyer who represents Bezos.
On Wednesday, Bezos tweeted a photo of himself attending a memorial service for Khashoggi in 2019.
The photo marked Bezos's first public remark since reports of the WhatsApp breach came to light.
The revelation casts a new shadow over the future king, whose efforts to overhaul Saudi Arabia's economy and attract foreign investment have been frustrated by global concern over his alleged role in the murder of Khashoggi in the country's consulate in Istanbul, Turkey. Sources previously told CNN that the CIA has concluded that bin Salman personally ordered the killing, which bin Salman has consistently denied.
Read more at: Saudi Arabia denies it hacked Jeff Bezos' phone after media report implicates crown prince - CNN
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