One year ago, on 18 July 2021, an international media consortium exposed the mass surveillance of thousands of journalists, human rights activists and politicians. Shortly afterwards, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and two journalists who were affected by the spyware attacks filed a complaint with the Paris prosecutor's office. They were later joined by other journalists.
On the first anniversary of the revelations, Reporters Without Borders looks back at the Pegasus investigation and takes stock of the legal steps taken so far and the measures we are calling on politicians to implement. RSF will also present its new Digital Security Lab, aimed at helping journalists who fear they are being targeted by digital surveillance because of their work.
Antoine Bernard, Director Advocacy and Assistance at RSF international
Hannes Munzinger, a journalist at paper trail media/DER SPIEGEL (previously with the Süddeutsche Zeitung) who worked in one of the project teams that exposed the Pegasus surveillance
Sevinj Vaqifqizi Abbasova, a journalist from Azerbaijan whose name was on the list of persons monitored by Pegasus, co-plaintiff
Benjamin Güldenring, Project Manager Digital Security Lab
Moderation: Christian Mihr, Executive Director of RSF Germany
Where: C-Base Berlin, Rungestraße 20, 10179 Berlin
Please register at presse@reporter-ohne-grenzen.de. You can also follow the press conference live via the following link: https://youtu.be/s3VMQEt5EA8
The Digital Security Lab is funded by the Postcode Lottery.
Antoine Bernard is the Director, Advocacy & Assistance of Reporters Without Borders (RSF). A lawyer, he is also a Faculty member of Sciences Po Paris School of International Affairs (PSIA) and the co-director of the PSIA Master on Human Rights and Humanitarian Action. Previously Bernard was the Ceo of the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH).
Hannes Munzinger is an award-winning journalist and book author. Before joining paper trail media, he worked for the Munich based daily Süddeutsche Zeitung; he took part in international investigations as the Panama Papers, the Pegasus Project or the Daphne Project. Having started his career as a data journalist, he still likes coding and automating research wherever it serves the story. His revelations cover a wide range of topics, with a focus on tax crimes, money laundering and corruption as well as cybercrime. In 2022, he co-authored the bestseller "Swiss Secrets".
Sevinj Vaqifqizi Abbasova is working as a journalist since 2010. Her journalism career includes reporting for different newspapers and online TV outlets in Azerbaijan, as well as investigative reports for international media. Sevinj Vaqifqizi Abbasova continues reporting from Azerbaijan for Meydan TV despite continuous harassment against herself and her colleagues. Her reports for Meydan TV were picked by international media such as Guardian, Associated Press. She also authored investigation for OCCRP.
Benjamin Güldenring works as Project manager of RSF's Digital Security Lab. Since 2019, he is responsible for the digital Helpdesk of RSF, and since 2021 for the Digital Security Lab. He previously worked as academic researcher at Freie Universität Berlin and as a trainer and journalist for Darknet investigations.
Christian Mihr has been Executive Director of Reporters Without Borders Germany since 2012. He is a journalist, human rights activist and expert on international media policy. He has frequently appeared as an expert witness in the German Bundestag, often regarding issues related to digital surveillance, internet censorship, and democratic control of intelligence services in the digital era. Before joining Reporters Without Borders, he worked for several years as a journalist for print and online media in Germany and Ecuador and as a lecturer in journalistic training for a German foundation in southern Russia. He studied in Eichstätt, Germany, and Santiago de Chile.