Friday, 28 November 2025
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Dissidents have started challenging Saudi Arabia and Bahrain through the UK courts

While Donald Trump might dismiss the most egregious actions of Gulf States as “things happen”, dissidents are taking justice into their own hands. The Saudi comedian and activist Ghanem Al-Masarir, for instance, has sued the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for psychological damage resulting from the misuse of private information, harassment and assault after he was attacked in London in 2018. A core part of Al-Masarir’s case rested on Pegasus spyware, which was found on his phone. Such spyware is difficult to definitively trace back, but in this case the court stated ([link removed]) that there was “good evidence” Saudi Arabia was responsible. The High Court also ruled that Saudi Arabia did not have immunity under the State Immunity Act 1978, a point the Saudi government appealed in an effort to get the case struck out. They didn’t succeed. The case continues.
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A similar case ([link removed]) is being heard in the UK’s Supreme Court this week. Saeed Shehabi, a leading Bahraini opposition figure, and Moosa Mohammed, a pro-democracy activist and photojournalist, allege the Bahraini government used FinSpy software back in 2011 to infiltrate their computers while they were living in London, also resulting in psychological harm. Like Pegasus, FinSpy can collect vast amounts of data from infected devices. The hacks occurred months after anti-government protests began in Bahrain. Shehabi and Mohammed were in touch with other activists, journalists and political prisoners.

Bahrain denies being behind the hack and is also claiming state immunity. They’ve lost twice on these grounds in both the High Court and Court of Appeal. Now they’ve taken their case to the Supreme Court, saying prior judges have misinterpreted section 5 of the State Immunity Act 1978 and unduly broadened the scope of its exception to immunity. Judges have argued to the contrary – that under Section 5 a state does not have immunity from claims for personal injury caused by an act or omission which happened in the UK. The Supreme Court can now clarify this point once and for all.

It's an important moment. If the Supreme Court rules against Bahrain, it sends a clear message about accountability and rule of law on UK shores. For too long the UK has been a playground for the world’s autocrats, who’ve targeted their overseas dissidents here through a variety of means. It would also be a moment of victory for the victims themselves. The psychological impact of surveillance is real. We’ve seen this in action, with Al-Masarir, a contributor of ours. He was due to perform at an Index comedy event two years ago and had to pull out ([link removed]) because of poor mental health. The damage caused to these individuals can’t be undone, but at least it can be acknowledged. That’s something.

Jemimah Steinfeld

CEO, Index on Censorship


** The best of Index this week
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New report: Breaking encryption is legally and practically unworkable ([link removed])

Publication sets out our position on why governments should not break end-to-end encryption ([link removed])

Freedom of speech needs freedom of thought ([link removed])

Maria Sorensen believes we must think about how free speech contributes to the public good ([link removed])

Israel bans activists from protesting outside the UAE embassy in Tel Aviv ([link removed])

The Sudanese community wanted to protest the sponsorship of a militia perpetrating atrocities ([link removed])

Algeria’s persecution of poet Mohamed Tadjadit must end ([link removed])

The winner of the 2025 Freedom of Expression Award has announced a hunger strike behind bars ([link removed])


** Watch Index’s Year in Review 2025 video
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Watch our 2025 recap video where we look at the biggest challenges to freedom of expression over the past year and Index’s work promoting voices from around the world.
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** In case you missed it
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Australian teens challenge government in battle for social media

A pair of Australian teens ([link removed]) have sought a legal challenge against the government’s ban on under-16s having accounts on social media this week. 15-year-olds Noah Jones and Macy Neland are backed by digital rights group The Digital Freedom Project in their attempt to block the ban from going ahead on 10 December.

Farmers protest in London

Farmers descended ([link removed]) upon Westminster this week in protest against proposals to change inheritance tax rules on farms. London’s Metropolitan Police issued restrictions banning tractors ([link removed]) from entering the area during the demonstrations, a rule that led to tractors impounded ([link removed]) and a number of arrests. Figures such as Jeremy Clarkson ([link removed]) and Nigel Farage ([link removed]) attended and gave their thoughts on the changes.

Hungarians invite Toby Young to talk free speech

This week Toby Young, member of the House of Lords and founder of the Free Speech Union (FSU), gave a talk in Hungary about UK censorship ([link removed]) . The talk, hosted in Budapest by Mathias Corvinus Collegium (MCC), titled ‘When a Tweet Can Land You in Jail ([link removed]) ’, took aim at the UK government’s arrests over posts to social media, people such as Lucy Connolly and Graham Linehan supported by the FSU. The MCC, a private college and think-tank, has received large amounts of support from the government of Viktor Orbán.


** Flashback
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The hunger games ([link removed])

by Stephen Komarnyckyj ([link removed])

Volume 52, Issue 4 ([link removed])

This Sunday marks the 92nd anniversary of the Holodomor Famine of 1932-33 when the Soviet Union implemented a manmade famine against the Ukrainians, killing millions.

Ahead of the memorial day, we look back at a piece by British-Ukrainian poet and translator Stephen Komarnyckyj who reflects on the eerie parallels between the Holodomor Famine and the current war as he presents the work of a Ukrainian author who took his own life rather than be killed. Read more here. ([link removed])


** Support our work
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The world is becoming more authoritarian and our work calling out human rights abuses and promoting freedom of expression in countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UK has never been more important.

By supporting Index on Censorship today, you can help us in our work with censored artists, jailed musicians, journalists under threat and dissidents facing torture or worse.

Please donate today ([link removed])

Photos by: (Mohammed Bin Salman and Donald Trump) Trump White House Archived, Public Domain Mark; (Ukrainians light candles at a monument to the victims of the Holodomor) Nazar Furyk/Pacific Press/Alamy

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