Bahrain cannot claim state immunity to block a lawsuit brought in Britain by two dissidents who say its government hacked their laptops with spyware, the United Kingdom's Supreme Court ruled by a majority on Monday.
Saeed Shehabi and Moosa Mohammed allege Bahrain infected their computers with surveillance software called FinSpy around 2011, which allowed agents to monitor their work with political prisoners in the Gulf kingdom.
The men, who both live in Britain, sued Bahrain at London's High Court in 2020, seeking damages for "psychiatric harm".
Bahrain denies hacking Shehabi and Mohammed's laptops and has for several years sought to claim state immunity to defeat the lawsuit.
Bahrain's assertion of state immunity was refused by London's High Court in 2023 and then the Court of Appeal the following year, prompting an appeal to the UK's highest court.
Bahrain cannot block spyware lawsuit
The Supreme Court on Monday dismissed Bahrain's appeal by a 3-to-2 majority, ruling that the alleged surveillance took place in Britain even if it was initiated from abroad.
This meant the alleged hacking came within the personal injury exception to state immunity under UK law and that Shehabi and Mohammed's case could proceed.