2023-05-03 05:26:00
A prominent journalist from the Dominican Republic has been attacked with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, in the first confirmed case in the countryAmnesty International reveals in new research published on World Press Freedom Day.
Analysis by Amnesty International’s Security Lab confirmed that a mobile device belonging to Nuria Piera had been targeted and infected with Pegasus, which allows full and unrestricted access to a device, on three occasions between 2020 and 2021. Piera is an investigative journalist whose work has focused on issues of corruption and impunity in the Dominican Republic throughout a career that spanned decades.
Following this latest discovery, there are now at least 18 countries where forensic analysis has confirmed that journalists were being targeted with spyware, although the actual scale of this abuse of surveillance technology is likely to be much higher. The Dominican Republic is the third country in the Americas, after Mexico and El Salvadorwhere Amnesty International has confirmed the use of Pegasus against both journalists and human rights defenders.
“The Dominican Republic joins the list of countries where spyware is used to silence and intimidate brave journalists. After having already exposed multiple cases in Mexico and El Salvador, we will continue to investigate any indication that points to possible new uses of Pegasus in the Dominican Republic. We call on states to urgently adopt a global moratorium on spyware,” said Erika Guevara-Rosas, Americas Director at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International’s investigation found indications that Nuria Piera’s device had been infected with Pegasus for the first time around 20 July 2020. Similar indications were also found around 8 September 2021 and 1 October 2021. In addition, Amnesty International shared the forensic data with Citizen Lab for peer review; this organization confirmed the findings using its independent methodology.
Nuria Piera told Amnesty International that, at the time her device was infected with Pegasus, she was working on sensitive and high-impact research. She studied corruption reports related to senior government officials and relatives of the country’s former president; months later criminal court proceedings were instituted against these persons for alleged bribery and other charges.
Piera first received confirmation that she was being attacked by Pegasus when she was notified by Amnesty International’s Security Lab. In November 2021, she received the notification sent by Apple to users of devices reportedly attacked with Pegasus exploits and QuaDream spyware, which has been linked to Pegasus. Piera stated that she had never received a judicial order or any other official notification from the Dominican authorities indicating that she was under surveillance, nor had she been told any reason to justify it.
These invasive tactics can be particularly damaging for women journalists, who often face gender-based attacks, such as accusations that they have violated traditional social, sexual or moral norms.
“Sometimes you have to fight really hard not to become neurotic, because there are always suspicions that someone else might be reporting on you. It’s like walking on quicksand. It greatly affects your sense of freedom, how free you feel to express your opinion. Sometimes you don’t even know how they want to hurt you, if you or through your loved ones. Then you feel responsible, which is even more serious”, stated Nuria Piera.
Amnesty International urges the authorities to promptly carry out an independent, impartial and transparent investigation into the unlawful targeted surveillance of journalists in the country, including the targeted Pegasus attack on Nuria Piera.
“In a country where both journalists and human rights defenders have long denounced that surveillance is common, discovering the use of Pegasus should be considered a worrying threat. Given that surveillance poses enormous risks to the physical safety and mental well-being of those who practice journalism and can endanger their sources, colleagues, friends and family, the Dominican authorities must immediately investigate this case and put in place effective safeguards to protect these people and prevent these events from happening again,” said Elina Castillo Jiménez, a researcher on digital surveillance at Amnesty International.
As part of an ongoing investigation, Amnesty International has spoken to dozens of journalists in the Dominican Republic, as well as human rights defenders, almost all of whom suspected they had been subjected to surveillance because of their work. Most believed that intelligence agents were following in their footsteps with traditional surveillance methods, such as wiretapping.
However, the lack of transparency regarding the use of surveillance and spyware makes it difficult for victims to obtain information or hold them to account. In the Dominican Republic there are no clear pathways to obtain adequate reparation in case of illegitimate selective surveillance. Habeas data —constitutional means for the protection of data and privacy existing in the country— and the criminal remedy available under Law 53-07 on Crimes and High Technology Offenses can only be used when it is known who is watching, something that is not always possible if access to information is not allowed or if the necessary technical skills are not possessed. In many cases it is practically impossible for the people attacked to even prove the existence of the surveillance, either because of technical obstacles or because the surveillance is covert. These factors limit access to remedies and further amplify the chilling effect of surveillance.
In the Dominican Republic, journalists known to investigate corruption may also be at risk of becoming targets of smear campaigns. Edith Febles, another prominent journalist who exposed wrongdoing during the former attorney general’s tenure, told Amnesty International that she was regularly targeted by waves of apparently organized attacks on social media because of her work.
“Acts of this nature profoundly harm the rule of law and professional practice [del periodismo]. No journalist should be the object of acts of this nature, which basically try to undermine his word, to undermine the possibility that people know what is happening, because the problem is not even the journalist himself. When it comes to undermining credibility, what they’re trying to do is put a barrier between that person and their communication with people,” Edith Febles said.
Amnesty International asked the Dominican authorities to report or comment on the use of Pegasus. At the time of publishing this statement, the Attorney General’s Office and the Ministry of the Interior and Police had responded that neither institution had purchased or used Pegasus during the tenure of the current holders of these positions, which began in August 2020, and had affirmed their willingness to investigate. Other authorities have not responded to this request. Amnesty International also requested comment from the NSO Group, which has not responded.
When the country begins a legal reform of the National Intelligence System, Amnesty International urges the Dominican Republic to take this initiative as an opportunity to implement a regulatory framework that respects human rights. Until such a framework is in place, a global moratorium on the purchase, sale, transfer and use of spyware should be enacted.
Unlawful targeted surveillance violates the right to privacy and can lead to violations of many other human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. According to inter-American and international law and standards, any interference by the State in the right to privacy must comply with the law and be necessary, proportional, and pursue a legitimate objective. Attacking journalists or other human rights defenders because of their work is in no way consistent with international human rights law. Using spyware to attack journalists and human rights defenders – in the absence of adequate transparency and other safeguards – also has a chilling effect and inhibits their ability to work without undue interference.
Illegitimate targeted surveillance can also have significant effects on mental health. It can induce those who suspect they are under surveillance to distrust and limit their interactions with others, narrow their inner circles, avoid certain places, and even move their family to school or residence, for fear of attacks on their loved ones. in retaliation for your work or activism. Since surveillance of someone can equally reveal personal details of your contacts, it can also cause concern for the well-being of your colleagues, friends, family, and even your sources. In this sense, illegitimate surveillance can even affect the right to health of the people affected and those around them.
In 2022, Amnesty International’s Security Lab began independently analyzing technical data from a sample of people identified as potential Pegasus targets in the Dominican Republic, including both journalists and human rights defenders, in the framework of a broader ongoing investigation into illegitimate surveillance.
In 2021, Amnesty International provided technical support for Project Pegasus, which determined that at least 25 Mexican journalists had been targeted over two years. Amnesty International’s Security Lab also peer-reviewed joint research by Access Now and Citizen Lab published in January 2022 and independently verified forensic data confirming large-scale use of Pegasus against journalists and members of organizations. of civil society in El Salvador.
NSO Group maintains that it only sells its products to government agencies, stating on its website: “NSO’s products are used exclusively by government intelligence and law enforcement agencies to fight crime and terrorism.” This claim is in clear contradiction to these new revelations regarding the use of Pegasus to once again attack a journalist.
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