So far only two persons – Delhi-based journalist J Gopikrishnan and Jharkhand activist Rupesh Kumar – have submitted their phones for investigation by the panel, but only one of them has recorded his statement. Eight others, who recorded evidence through videoconferencing, did not submit their phones, while about two dozen have yet to be questioned.
The panel, which also includes technical experts, has so far made two appeals through the media to help with the investigation. With the first notice, issued on January 2, failing to receive a response, the panel renewed its appeal on Thursday, asking the complainants to submit their phones.
The Supreme Court’s order to set up the panel came on a plea that a forensic investigation was conducted by Amnesty International The Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto’s Munk School found that Pegasus was used to hack at least 14 phones of activists, journalists, opposition leaders and others. NSOThe Israeli manufacturer of Pegasus has stated that the spyware is sold only to government agencies. The government has denied allegations of illegal spying on civilians, even though it has refused to confirm or deny the acquisition of Pegasus.
In July 2021 a consortium of 17 global news organizations released information about 50,000 leaked targets under surveillance using Pegasus spyware.
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