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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Stephanie Kirchgaessner and Angela Giuffrida

Activist alerts ICC to spyware attack while sharing Libya torture victims’ details

David Yambio at a press conference
David Yambio was first notified by Apple of a possible spyware attack, which other experts later confirmed.
Photograph: Remo Casilli/Reuters

A prominent activist in Italy has warned the international criminal court that his mobile phone was under surveillance when he was providing the ICC with confidential information about victims of torture in Libya.

A report released on Wednesday by the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto, which tracks digital surveillance of members of civil society, has confirmed that David Yambio, the founder of an organisation called Refugees in Libya, was targeted by mercenary spyware. The attack occurred at a time when he was in communication with The Hague, he said. At least one attack took place around June 2024, researchers said.

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