Judges find insufficient evidence that the telephone had Pegasus program installed.
PUBLISHED: 23 Nov 2024 at 14: 24
According to Amnesty International, the Bangkok Civil Court has dropped Jatupat Boonpattararaksa‘s complaint against NSO Group Technologies for reportedly failing to stop him from being a target of its Pegasus malware.
Mr Jatupat, also known as” Pai Dao Din”, was  , among about 30 activists and lawyers in Thailand whose phones were infected by the Israeli-made spyware in 2020-21, independent researchers found. Some had been detained, arrested and imprisoned many days for their political activism, or for participating in pro-democracy demonstrations.
” The judge’s failure to realise NSO Group’s role in facilitating human rights abuses via the targeting of Thai human right supporters with Pegasus spyware is greatly alarming”, said Chanatip Tatiyakaroonwong, Thailand scientist for Amnesty International.
It does n’t, but, stop the fight against the use of spyware and the fight for justice for the sufferers of spyware in Thailand and other countries.
In addition to Mr Jatupat, individuals targeted by Pegasus included attorney Anon Nampa, who has been imprisoned for lese-majeste and still faces more than 10 different claims under the law, and Panusaya Sithijirawattanakul, one of the student frontrunners of the pro-democracy activity.
Mr. Jatupat claimed in his petition that NSO Group had facilitated the use of Pegasus to pin him and other Thai campaigners, a violation of their constitutional rights, including the right to private. Between June and July 2021, he claimed, his telephone had been infected three days.
He demanded 2.5 million ringgit in payment, an end to the use of Pegasus to harm his machine, access to the data extracted from his system, and for the information be deleted from the bank’s collection.
In its ruling, the judge dismissed the case on the basis that there was inadequate evidence to prove that Jatupat’s system was infected, according to Amnesty.
The plaintiff, according to the judge, did not adequately describe the criminal investigation’s findings, which led to the conclusion that his system had been the subject of the spyware.
Amnesty International reported that its Security Lab has thoroughly analyzed a number of mobile devices, including those used by Thai rights activists, to detect Pegasus infections. NSO spyware had facilitated broad rights violations around the world, according to an analysis by Amnesty and Forbidden Stories in 2021.
NSO refutes claims that it is merely a creator of malware and that its use is unreliable, and that it frequently mistreats rights activists.
The Jewish company asserts that its products are specifically intended for the government’s efforts to combat crime and terrorism, a claim that is challenged by civil society research showing widespread misuse of journalists and activists.
When a portable device has been successfully penetrated, Pegasus software can collect information and turn on cameras or microphones.
Chaiwut Thanakamanusorn, the minister of modern economy and society in the previous Prayut Chan-o-cha state, acknowledged in parliament that the nation had used monitoring software to track people in situations involving medication or national security, without specifying what kind.
Nevertheless, he walked up his comments just days after, denying that such technology was used. Which Thai organization may have purchased or used Pegasus software, it has never been determined.