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> The ruler of Dubai hacked the phone of his ex-wife Princess Haya using NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus spyware in an unlawful abuse of power and trust, a se

> The ruler of Dubai hacked the phone of his ex-wife Princess Haya using NSO Group’s controversial Pegasus spyware in an unlawful abuse of power and trust, a senior high court judge has ruled. Illegal under British law. However, under Dubai law, I doubt this is illegal because it is the ruler doing it. Thus the question comes down ultimately to, is the UAE worth having as an ally in the Middle East or not. I think the calculus for the US, Israel, and UK is that it is. Given the political and cultural climate of the Middle East, any other regime is likely to be worse in a lot of dimensions.

baybal2 5y ago
Strictly speaking, in UAE hacking will be a federal offence. UAE supreme court can, in theory, try a monarch of a constituent emirate.
- missedthecue 5y ago
  Isn't the Monarch a party to every criminal case in the UAE though? He'd be trying himself.
  - baybal2 5y ago
    There are 8 more kings in UAE.
    - missedthecue 5y ago
      Can another emirate prosecute a crime that occurred in Dubai?
      - fakedang 5y ago
        The Federal Supreme Court (which is basically controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi) can convict a monarch for a criminal violation in theory. Obviously depending on who's being tried, the verdicts will vary. For example, in the case of a cousin of the Sheikh of Ras Al Khaimah who nearly executed a coup, the verdict was pretty harsh. For a half-brother of Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince who was accused of castrating and beating up an Afghan trader, the verdict was a joke. I assume if this were to end up in Federal Court, it would be a joke verdict since the current rulers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are on solid terms. That being said, if Abu Dhabi and Dubai's rulers were on bad terms (not going to happen soon anyways), Abu Dhabi has been increasingly moving on a path towards centralization, so this would be a very convenient way for them to accomplish that.
oh_sigh 5y ago
If there was no pushback from MBS literally murdering a dissident in their embassy in a foreign country, why would anyone care about someone hacking his daughter's cell phone?

baybal2 5y ago

Strictly speaking, in UAE hacking will be a federal offence. UAE supreme court can, in theory, try a monarch of a constituent emirate.

missedthecue 5y ago
Isn't the Monarch a party to every criminal case in the UAE though? He'd be trying himself.
- baybal2 5y ago
  There are 8 more kings in UAE.
  - missedthecue 5y ago
    Can another emirate prosecute a crime that occurred in Dubai?
    - fakedang 5y ago
      The Federal Supreme Court (which is basically controlled by the Emirate of Abu Dhabi) can convict a monarch for a criminal violation in theory. Obviously depending on who's being tried, the verdicts will vary. For example, in the case of a cousin of the Sheikh of Ras Al Khaimah who nearly executed a coup, the verdict was pretty harsh. For a half-brother of Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince who was accused of castrating and beating up an Afghan trader, the verdict was a joke. I assume if this were to end up in Federal Court, it would be a joke verdict since the current rulers in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are on solid terms. That being said, if Abu Dhabi and Dubai's rulers were on bad terms (not going to happen soon anyways), Abu Dhabi has been increasingly moving on a path towards centralization, so this would be a very convenient way for them to accomplish that.

oh_sigh 5y ago

If there was no pushback from MBS literally murdering a dissident in their embassy in a foreign country, why would anyone care about someone hacking his daughter's cell phone?