The scenario outlined by the investigators of the UN (United Nations Organization) since Wednesday seems implausible. The phone of the CEO of Amazon, whose revelation of the data had exposed his extramarital affair, could have been hacked by Saudi Arabia. The Parisian takes stock of this complex affair, which could well combine murder, espionage, blackmail and freedom of expression.
What happened ?
In January 2019, the American weekly scandalous National Enquirer published the passionate messages exchanged a year earlier between Amazon CEO and his mistress, journalist Lauren Sanchez. Note that at the time of these exchanges, Jeff Bezos was still married to Mackenzie Bezos.
A month after these revelations, the American billionaire announced that he had hired a team of private detectives to understand how the weekly had obtained this sensitive data and to determine if the motivations of its owner, American Media Inc (AMI), went to the beyond the scoop.
In a column published on the Medium site, the businessman also denounced the blackmail and wrote that The National Enquirer had exercised on his person, so that he stopped investigating his source. The media allegedly threatened to reveal intimate photos exchanged by the lovers.
In his column, Jeff Bezos also suggests that his investigators were interested in the relations between AMI and Donald Trump and also points to supposed links between AMI and the Saudi prince Mohammed bin Salman. Suspicions that one of the detectives had confirmed in March by attributing the supposed hacking of the telephone to the Saudis.
What are the revelations from UN investigators?
The version of Saudi interference is also the one favored by two UN experts. Agnes Callamard, rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, and David Kaye, rapporteur on freedom of expression, had access to information "which suggests the possible implication" of the Saudi prince Mohammed ben Salmane in this hacking.
They say in a statement released Wednesday that the heir to the Kingdom would have sent the richest man in the world several messages containing "private and confidential information about the private life of Jeff Bezos, which were not publicly available ".
The desire of Mohammed bin Salman to tarnish the image of the billionaire could find a basis in the publication of articles by Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, in the Washington Post, which Jeff Bezos owns. The man, exiled to the United States, was very critical of his native country and of the Prince. He was assassinated and dismembered on October 2, 2018 at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul. A murder attributed by the CIA to Prince Mohammed bin Salman, which the Kingdom vehemently denies. In December, a Saudi court exonerated those around him from all responsibility.
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Jeff Bezos “is not a Saudi citizen. He is a person of strategic interest, and his hacking seems to have been motivated by the fact that he is the owner of the Washington Post, "insisted Agnès Callamard in his report.
How would the phone have been hacked?
In early 2018, the Saudi prince and the American CEO met and exchanged their respective phone numbers during a dinner in Los Angeles. A few weeks later, the first sent the second a video on the WhatsApp application. According to the investigation, in this document was lodged a virus responsible for the extraction of quantity of data from the phone of Jeff Bezos, including the compromising SMS and photos. Experts say they have identified the software responsible for the hack, which is apparently prized by Saudi intelligence services.
According to UN experts, this telephone hack, intended to "influence if not silence" Jeff Bezos, would have lasted until February 2019. They also claim that this case "reinforces the reports of 'a targeted surveillance program of those perceived to be opponents and of those who are of strategic importance' in the eyes of Ryad.
What can happen now?
The two experts, mandated by the United Nations Human Rights Council but who do not speak on behalf of the United Nations, demanded "an immediate investigation by the American authorities and other competent authorities", which must notably relate to "the direct and personal implication of the crown prince in the efforts aimed at targeting the alleged opponents".
Calling the allegations "absurd," the Saudi Arabian embassy in Washington also called for an investigation "to shed light on these facts."
Recent media reports that suggest the Kingdom is behind a hacking of Mr. Jeff Bezos' phone are absurd. We call for an investigation on these claims so that we can have all the facts out.
- Saudi Embassy (@SaudiEmbassyUSA) January 22, 2020The United States has not mentioned any initiation of investigation to date. "We are aware of the information published in the media and we are concerned about these allegations," reacted an official of the American State Department. Also contacted by AFP, a spokesman for the US Department of Justice said he was also "aware" of this report, but had "no comments" to make.
In response to these revelations, Jeff Bezos posted a photo of him on Twitter near the widow of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
#Jamal pic.twitter.com/8ej1rUBXVb
- Jeff Bezos (@JeffBezos) January 22, 2020
