LONDON: Dubai’s ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum authorised the use of spying software to hack the phone of his former wife, according to a British court ruling published on Wednesday.

The phone of Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, 47, and those of her lawyers and others in her entourage were hacked using Pegasus spyware during the pair’s acrimonious divorce custody case in London, the High Court found.

The 72-year-old sheikh, who is the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, gave his “express or implied authority” for the phone of Princess Haya to be hacked with the multi-million-pound software only available to national governments, the ruling said.

Published in Dawn, October 7th, 2021