‘Partnering With Apartheid’: 250 Citizens Condemn Import of Israeli Policy in Pegasus Use

‘The scandal of anti-democratic snooping shows how Israeli methods are being used against anyone that opposes the wills of those in power.’

New Delhi: Nearly 250 activists, academics, cultural figures and concerned citizens have signed a petition demanding action from the Union government to tackle what they see to be the broader implications of the findings of the Pegasus Project.

The Pegasus Project is an investigation that involves 17 news organisations in 10 countries – including the The Wire in India – coordinated by Forbidden Stories with the technical support of Amnesty International’s Security Lab. Reports under the project have indicated the attempted or successful surveillance on several journalists, opposition leaders, a leading scientist, and activists.

Drawing attention to the fact that India is one among 10 clients of the NSO Group that sells the Pegasus spyware that is used for surveillance, the signatories to the petition highlights that the group works ‘closely with the Israeli state, which approves every sale of the company’s spyware, while the company itself claims to sell its products only to “vetted governments”.’

The signatories of the statement include members of the cultural community such as Naseeruddin Shah, Ratna Pathak Shah, Nayantara Sahgal, Mallika Sarabhai, TM Krishna, Anand Patwardhan, Hiren Gohain and Meena Kandasamy; members of the academic community such as Nivedita Menon, Kumkum Roy, Gyan Prakash and Apoorvanand; activists Henri Tiphagne, Harsh Mander and Fr. Frazer Mascarenhas and journalists Geeta Seshu and The Wire‘s ombudsperson Pamela Philipose.

Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif and Palestinian writer and human rights lawyer Raja Shehadeh are among signatories.

Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Anirban Bhattacharya and Shalini Gera – targeted by Pegasus – have also endorsed this statement, brought out under the aegis of the India Cultural Forum.

Also read: Pegasus Project: 136 Names Revealed By The Wire On Snoop List So Far

The petition posits the development of such tools of surveillance as an inherently suppressive act and makes a point on the fact that the spyware itself is a “part of the matrix of Israel’s apartheid and occupation and are only the latest import of repressive paradigms and methods that our government has imported from Israel.”

It alleges that the roots of the spyware are in repression as well.

‘Through its cooperation with Israel and the NSO Group, the government does so using technologies that are developed through usage against Palestinians. They are perfected in this way before being sold to clients across the world, who then use it for repression.’

The petition alleges that regimes in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, Hungary and India have used the software to target dissenters and even killed two of them, journalists Jamal Khashoggi and Cecilio Pineda Birto.

The petition also calls for a global alliance to come together and challenge the collusion of governments and their access to technology “built to violate human rights.”

While the group asks for accountability from the Indian government, it also recognises that the import of such surveillance technology by this same government is done by a policy that regards Israel as its model. It also likes India’s beginnings to Palestine’s struggle.

The Citizenship Amendment Act mirroring the Law of Return and abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir opening the doors for ‘Israel-style settlements’ have been a starting point. The scandal of anti-democratic snooping shows how Israeli methods are being used against anyone that opposes the wills of those in power. Intrinsically, our struggles for democracy and equality are linked to the Palestinian liberation movement, as well as people across the world resisting human rights violations.

The signatories demand the end of the purchase of cyber surveillance technology from NSO group and other such companies, an end to the surveillance and repression against Indian citizens and an end military and security ties with “apartheid Israel”.

A full list of the signatories is below. Read the full statement here.

  1. Ambika Nair, Freelance Editor
  2. Paranjoy Guha Thakurta
  3. Achin Vanaik, Retd. Professor, University of Delhi
  4. Uma Chakravarti, Retired Teacher
  5. Vijoo Krishnan,  All India Kisan Sabha
  6. Naseeruddin Shah
  7. Ratna Pathak Shah
  8. Apoorvanand, Teacher and Writer
  9. T.M.Krishna, Musician and Author
  10. Mallika Sarabhai
  11. Githa Hariharan, Writer, Indian Cultural Forum
  12. Prabir Purkayastha, Newsclick
  13. Dr. Frazer Mascarenhas S.J., Academic Administrator
  14. Pyoli, Samajwadi Janparishad
  15. K.Ravi Chander, Telangana Praja Front (TPF)
  16. Sharib, University of Bern
  17. Harsh Mander, Human Rights and Peace Worker and Writer
  18. Vijay Prashad, Director of Tricontinental Institute for Social Research; Chief Editor, LeftWordBooks; Chief Correspondent at Globetrotter
  19. Ahdaf Soueif, Writer
  20. Raja Shehadeh
  21. Deepika Joshi, Jan Swasthya Abhiyan
  22. Virginia Saldanha, Indian Christian Women’s Movement
  23. Meera Sanghamitra, National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM)
  24. Sharmila, IIT Bombay
  25. Ayesha Kidwai, Jawaharlal Nehru University
  26. Aman, JGLS
  27. Sharanya, Rangmatipadar Adivasi Commune Koraput
  28. Khalida parveen, Amoomat society
  29. Safoora Zargar, Jamia Millia Islamia
  30. Ranjan Solomon, Badayl
  31. Rajendra Chenni
  32. Bishnupriya Dutt, JNU
  33. Nandita Narain, St Stephen’s College, Delhi University
  34. Nivedita Menon, JNU Delhi
  35. Karuna D.W.
  36. Salim Yusufji
  37. Prof. Mohan Rao, Jan Swashya Abhiyan
  38. Marcy Newman
  39. N Venugopal, Editor, Veekshanam
  40. Madhu Sahni, JNU
  41. Ranjana, WSS
  42. vqueeram, Independent Researcher
  43. Nikita Agarwal, Advocate, High Court of Delhi
  44. Pradip Datta, retired professor, JNU
  45. Sachidanand Sinha, JNU, New Delhi
  46. Soibam Haripriya
  47. Janaki Nair, Professor (Retd) Centre for Historical Studies, JNU
  48. Pushpamala N, Artist
  49. Prem Kumar Vijayan, Hindu College, Delhi University
  50. Sukla Sen, PUCL, Maharashtra
  51. K. Padma, Committee for Release of Political Prisoners
  52. Anupama P, University of Hyderabad
  53. Siddharth, MA, JNU
  54. Chirashree Das Gupta, Jawaharlal Nehru University
  55. Anirban Bhattacharya, CFA
  56. Sowmya Dechamma C C, UoH
  57. Chirag Shah
  58. Nisha Biswas
  59. Nabila Khadija Ansari, Student
  60. Neha Trivedi
  61. Ammu Abraham, Forum Against Oppression of Women
  62. Dr Debjani Sengupta, Associate Professor, IP College, DU
  63. Sukumar Muralidharan, Independent journalist
  64. Sandhya Gokhale, Forum Against Oppression of Women
  65. Latha
  66. Anita A Cherian
  67. Lingam Nageswara Rao, Retired
  68. Ayesha Samah, Student
  69. Rahul Menon
  70. Devaki Jain
  71. Aastha
  72. Devaki Khanna
  73. Devika J, Feminist Scholar, Kerala
  74. Debarati
  75. Mohammed Danish
  76. Indrapramit Das
  77. S. Raghunandana, Kannada Poet, Playwright, Stage Director
  78. N. Jayaram, PUCL
  79. Dunu Roy, Hazards Centre
  80. Jagdeep Chhokar , Retired Professor
  81. G. Arunima, Kerala Council for Historical Research
  82. Rajni Palriwala
  83. Nasir Tyabji, Formerly with Jamia Millia Islamia
  84. Geeta Seshu, Free Speech Collective
  85. S. Gopal
  86. Xavier Dias, Mines Minerals & RIGHTS
  87. Navdeep Mathur, IIM Ahmedabad
  88. Bittu K R, WSS
  89. Kalpana Swaminathan
  90. Ishrat Syed
  91. Mahnoor Yar Khan
  92. Himanshu Desai
  93. Mohd Abuzar, Independent Activist
  94. Aflatoon, All India General Secretary, Samajwadi Jan Parishad
  95. Prabir Bose
  96. Natasha Ginwala
  97. Sunita  Babu
  98. Sujata Gothoskar, Forum Against Oppression of Women
  99. Naresh Dadhich, IUCAA
  100. Maimoona Mollah, AIDWA, Delhi
  101. Jeroo Mulla, Sophia Polytechnic
  102. Asha Sharma, AIDWA, Delhi
  103.  Abdul Rahman, Peoples Dispatch
  104. Kalyani Menon Sen, Independent Researcher
  105. Atul Gurtu, Retired Scientist TIFR
  106. Rahul Roy, Indian Statistical Institute
  107. Shireen Mistree
  108. K Satchidanandan, Indian Writers’ Forum
  109. Amarjit Chandan
  110. Geeta Kapur, Independent art writer
  111. Aravinda Potluri
  112. Meena Kandasamy, Writer
  113.  Ashok Vajpeyi, Writer and Literary Critic
  114. Hiren Gohain
  115. Nicholas Barla
  116. Aruna Rodrigues
  117. Chandrakant Patil
  118. Satarupa Chakraborty, AIDWA
  119. Nandini Rao
  120. Winnie Chauhan, LeftWord Books
  121. M Madhava Prasad
  122. Rimli Bhattacharya, University of Delhi
  123. Pritam Singh, Professor
  124. Meena Dhanda, Professor
  125. Hazel D’Lima, Nirmala Niketan
  126. Shastri Ramachandaran, Journalist
  127. Vidya Bhushan Rawat, Activist and Author
  128. Dwarika Nath Rath, Activist
  129. M G Devasahayam, People-First Movement
  130. Sahba Husain, Independent Researcher/ Writer
  131. Srabani, JMS, Delhi
  132. Kalyani Chaudhuri, Retd. [IAS] Additional Chief Secretary, West Bengal
  133. Prasad Chacko, Independent consultant
  134. Gyan Prakash, Princeton University
  135. Deepak Kapur, Professor, UNM
  136. Feroz Mehdi
  137. Durga Prasad Panda, Bilingual Poet and Critic
  138. Krishnakant Chauhan, Environment Activist
  139. Rakhi Basu
  140. Souradeep Roy, Queen Mary, University of London
  141. Shakuntala Kulkarni
  142. N Manu Chakravarthy, Visiting Professor
  143. Dr. S C Mukhopadhyay, Academic
  144. Kumkum Roy
  145. Abhinav Surya L T, Free Software Movement Karnataka
  146. Jyoti Punwani, Freelance journalist
  147. Oishik Sircar, Jindal Global Law School
  148. Firoz, School Teacher
  149. Mounica Sreesai, Students Federation of India
  150. Sumanta  Banerjee, Independent Writer and Political Commentator
  151. Varsha K, Academic
  152. Taher
  153. Neha, Lawyer
  154. K. Muralidharan
  155. Supriya Varma
  156. Avani Chokshi
  157. Sagari R Ramdas, Food Sovereignty Alliance
  158. Debashree Mukherjee
  159. Veena Chalam
  160. Prakash Narain
  161. Ashish Ghosh, Retired from DU
  162. Peggy Mohan, Writer
  163. Akriti, Student
  164. Pushkar Raj, PUCL
  165. Ram Puniyani, Center for Study of Society and Secularism
  166. Elsa, PBVM
  167. Usman
  168. Vidyun Sabhaney, Artist
  169. Suyash Modi
  170. Sharon Flynn
  171. Niloufer Sagar
  172. Prof J G Krishnayya, Retired, ex-Director of Systems Research Institute, Pune
  173. Shalini Gera, Lawyer, Chhattisgarh High Court
  174. Datta Desai, Peoples’ Science Movement/Left Movement
  175. Devdan Chaudhuri
  176. Dev Desai, ANHAD
  177. Shivangi Mariam Raj, Independent Researcher and Translator
  178. Deepti Bharti, National Federation of Indian Women
  179. Suchetana Chattopadhyay, Jadavpur University
  180. Vinod Mubayi, Insaf Bulletin
  181. Manjari Mehta
  182. Nilanjana Paul, The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley
  183. Dr. Sanjay Mangala Gopal, National Alliance of Peoples’ Movements (NAPM)
  184. Sunil Kumar Banerjee
  185. Sachin N, DSC, University of Delhi
  186. Lotika Singha, University of Wolverhampton, UK
  187. Rajeev Singha
  188. Mohammed Al Asaad, Writer
  189. Kiran Tandon, Book Editor
  190. Ramneek Singh, Playwright and Theatre Director
  191. Subhash Gatade, New Socialist Initiative
  192. Ashley Jude Mario Tellis, Independent Researcher
  193. Mohammad Imran, Retired
  194. Dr Sylvia Karpagam, Public Health Doctor
  195. Anustup Basu, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
  196. Albeena Shakil
  197. Rosamma Thomas, Freelancer
  198. Mariam Dhawale, All India Democratic Women’s Association
  199. Ajay Ranjan Singh
  200. Philomena D’Souza
  201. Malathi
  202. A.K.Maleri, Democratic Rights Movement
  203. Arun, VIRASAM
  204. Ritu Maleri, Democratic Rights Movement
  205. Pamela Philipose, Ombudsperson, The Wire
  206. Dharvinder Kumar
  207. Brinda Adige
  208. Vivan Sundaram
  209. Amar Jesani
  210. Manishi Jani
  211. Indira Chandrasekhar, Publisher
  212. Bharati Jagannathan, Miranda House, Delhi university
  213. Deeksha, Student
  214. Prabhu Prasad Mohapatra, History, .University of Delhi
  215. Aashita Dawer, O.P. Jindal Global University
  216. Husna Hasan
  217. Jagmohan Singh, Association For Democratic Rights (Punjab)
  218. N A Sebastian
  219. Purendra Prasad, Professor
  220. Manju Kulapuram
  221. Mukund Kulkarni, Development Foundation
  222. Chaand Ohri, Doctor
  223. Aarti Bhatt, CAR
  224. Avinash Kumar, Assistant Professor, JNU
  225. Rohini Hensman, Writer and Independent scholar
  226. Abha, One Billion Rising
  227. Madhu Bhaduri
  228. Shashi Deshpande, Writer
  229. Nayantara Sehgal, Writer
  230. Samik Bandyopadhyay, Art, Theatre and Film Critic
  231. Henri Tiphagne, Human Rights defenders’ Alert – India (HRDA)
  232. Poonam Kaushik, General Secretary Pragatisheel Mahila Sangathan Delhi
  233. Shreya Menon
  234. Suhail Shafi
  235. Rajiv Gupta, Former Professor and Head, Department of Sociology, University of Rajasthan, Jaipur
  236. Dr. James Deutsch, University of Toronto
  237. Anand Patwardhan, Filmmaker
  238. Megha Pansare, Academic
  239. Manmohan Kumar, All India Rural and Agricultural Labour Association
  240. Hiren Gandhi
  241. Saroop Dhruv
  242. Sucharita Sen, JNU
  243. Lalita Ramdas
  244. Indrapramit Roy, Artist
  245. Vasudevan Akkitham, Freelance Artist
  246. Anju Uppal
  247. Moinak Banerjee, Doctoral Student, McGill University
  248. Vikash, NAPM
  249. Rana

Organisational Endorsement:

    1. New Trade Union Initiative
    2. InSAF India (International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India)
    3. Campaign Against Fabricated Cases(CAFC), Odisha
    4. COLLECTIVE

The Pegasus Project is a collaborative investigation that involves more than 80 journalists from 17 news organisations in 10 countries coordinated by Forbidden Stories with the technical support of Amnesty International’s Security Lab. Read all our coverage here.