Protect Mexico’s protesters and Slovakia using Pegasus spyware

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Photo: Cuartoscuro. Violence broke out at the Attorney General's Office in Tlalpan, Mexico.

Protect Mexico’s protesters, activists and journalists

Last week, our colleague from the Mexico and Central America office was among those attacked by security guards and police as he attempted to document events following a protest in in the Xochimilco and Tlalpan areas of Mexico City.

Demonstrators, including members of the Otomí community, gathered to call for water rights, the protection and preservation of land belonging to indigenous communities, and against land grabs. But the peaceful rally ended in violence when a group of people, some of them armed with knives and guns, attacked the protesters. When police and security forces arrived, they not only failed to protect the protesters, they violently assaulted them too.

Police detained 4 human rights defenders and a journalist at the protest, holding them in an undisclosed location for 5 hours. When family members and activists eventually discovered where they were being held and arrived at the location to demand their release, they too faced violence from security forces.

We condemn this physical aggression from the Mexican authorities – the very people who should be protecting their communities from violence and upholding their basic human rights.

These are the latest in a series of protests and violence in Mexico, against the backdrop of the government’s plans to drastically overhaul the judiciary, which rights activists warn will undermine the rule of law and say is a cynical tactic by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) to secure greater powers. The reforms are set to be carried forward by incoming president Claudia Sheinbaum, AMLO’s political ally, who has promised to maintain continuity in government.

The new measures also aim to dissolve several independent authorities, among them the National Institute for Access to Public Information and Data Protection (INAI). This fundamentally threatens democracy ([link removed]) in Mexico, given the key role the institution plays in ensuring transparency and the right to information and privacy.

On 10 September, Senate secured a narrow victory ([link removed]) , drawing enough votes to introduce the constitutional reforms.

We join fellow freedom of expression and human rights organisations in calling for Mexican authorities to thoroughly investigate the events of 5 September, and to protect human rights defenders, protesters, indigenous communities and activists, and journalists. Police and other authorities must respect the right to freedom of expression and to protest.

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Photo: Rami al-Zayat on Unsplash.

Is Slovakia using Pegasus spyware to crack down on freedom of expression?

Mexico was the first country in the world to purchase Pegasus spyware – its use has had a chilling effect on journalists and human rights defenders across the country ever since.

So the news that Slovakia’s national intelligence agency might have acquired Pegasus spyware has sparked fresh fears for democracy and the protection of human rights. Slovak news site Dennik's ([link removed]) investigations into the acquisition of Pegasus signal a profound new threat to human rights and democratic processes as the country faces rising authoritarianism and increasing attacks on journalists, activists, civil society, and opposition ([link removed]) .

Given the government’s crackdown on dissent and free expression, there is good reason to believe the purchase of Pegasus, developed by the Israeli company NSO, will be used to advance these attacks, as has happened in Mexico, Saudi Arabia, and – and in other European countries including Poland and Hungary.

We call on the Slovak government and the national intelligence agency cease the use of Pegasus and similar spyware immediately.

We also reiterate our call ([link removed]) on European institutions and European Union member states to urgently adopt measures to address the threats to fundamental rights posed by spyware. This must include a ban on the production, sale, and use of spyware that violates human rights.  

The EU must develop comprehensive frameworks that prioritise the protection of privacy and freedom of expression, as well as rigorous accountability mechanisms for state surveillance practices.

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