In October 2021, Salah Hammouri contacted Front Line Defenders to initiate an examination of his phone after learning of the infiltration of other Palestinian human rights defenders’ phones. Front Line concluded its investigation by November 2021, and The Citizen Lab and Amnesty International confirmed its findings.
The investigation revealed that the phones of Mr. Hammouri and other Palestinian human rights defenders were hacked using Pegasus, spyware manufactured by NSO Group. The investigation confirmed that Mr. Hammouri’s phone has been infiltrated in April 2021. In December 2021, Mr. Hammouri approached FIDH to represent him in filing a legal complaint against NSO Group, which has been using this spyware illegally to hack and infiltrate his phone, and through it, his entire professional and private life, thereby depriving him of his right to privacy among others.