UK Supreme Court Rejects Bahrain Immunity in Spyware Case

The UK Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by the Kingdom of Bahrain, ruling that the state could not claim sovereign immunity for alleged spyware attacks on two Bahraini dissidents in the United Kingdom. The claimants, Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed, argued that Bahrain’s agents installed spyware on their computers in 2011, causing psychiatric injury when they discovered the surveillance.

The Court held that Section 5 of the State Immunity Act 1978 applies when personal injury is caused by an act “in the United Kingdom,” even if the causative actions were performed abroad. Consequently, Bahrain’s appeal was rejected, setting a precedent that foreign states can be held accountable for transnational repression carried out through technology that affects individuals on UK soil.