Amnesty changes stance on Pegasus row, says never claimed list was ‘NSO Spyware List’

Amid the ongoing Pegasus Snoopgate Row, Amnesty International has said that it never claimed that the list was NSO Pegasus Spyware List. It added that the list mentions the 'kind of people' NSO’s clients would be interested in spying on. However, it has now stated that the list is not specifically a list of people who were spied on. Amnesty's statement comes at a time when the opposition has been hitting out at the Centre over the issue.

"The truth is that Amnesty has never presented this list as "NSO's Pegasus Spyware List", although some of the world's media may have done so. Amnesty, and the investigative journalists and media outlets in which they work, made it clear from the outset in very clear language that this A list of numbers marked as numbers of interest to NSO customers, which are different regimes in the world," the statement said. 

Amnesty's response on Pegasus spyware row

The development was tweeted by American investigative journalist Kim Zetter. Quoting a report, Zetter stated that the list includes numbers marked as numbers of interest to NSO customers. 

Congress attacks govt over Pegasus Row

The Congress has repeatedly attacked the Centre over the issue. As the Pegasus row sparked off, the grand old party had also termed the matter as 'seditious'. In addition, the party has also been raising the issue in Parliament's both Houses during the Monsoon Session. Congress leader Randeep Surejawala had said that the Modi government has 'assassinated the constitution and the democracy'. Citing a threat to national security, Surjewala stated that the government of India has put national security at stake adding that they have spied on journalists and opposition leaders. Moreover, it has also demanded a full-fledged probe into the Pegasus Snoopgate Row. 

NSO Group issues 'last statement' on Pegasus Row 

Israeli-based NSO Group, on Wednesday, had stated that it will no longer respond on the issue. The Israeli firm in its statement stated cited the 'well-orchestrated media campaign' led by Forbidden Stories and pushed by special interest groups, with 'complete disregard of the facts'. This comes after an alleged list contained 50,000 phone numbers that have been linked to snooping using Pegasus, from which certain numbers purportedly belonged to persons in India. 

"In light of the recent planned and well-orchestrated media campaign lead by Forbidden Stories and pushed by special interest groups, and due to the complete disregard of the facts, NSO is announcing it will no longer be responding to media inquiries on this matter and it will not play along with the vicious and slanderous campaign," the NSO Group said in the statement.