The War On News

A record of government actions against journalism and fact-based reporting, from the first press laws to today

Incident

Saudi Arabia: spyware on an associate's phone precedes Jamal Khashoggi's killing by one day

Saudi ArabiaRSF 2026 rank: 176th of 180

Engraving of an empty press briefing room with a lectern and rows of chairs

Citizen Lab found Pegasus spyware on the phone of Saudi dissident Omar Abdulaziz, a close associate and collaborator of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, one day before Saudi operatives killed Khashoggi inside the country's Istanbul consulate.123

What happened

On October 1, 2018, the Canadian digital rights research group Citizen Lab published forensic analysis finding, with a high degree of confidence, that Saudi dissident Omar Abdulaziz's phone had been successfully infected with Pegasus spyware made by Israel's NSO Group, in an operation linked to Saudi government operators. Abdulaziz was a close associate of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, and the two had been collaborating on plans for a news and human rights website; Abdulaziz said Khashoggi had been sharply critical of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in their private conversations, including through encrypted messages that the spyware would have exposed. The day after Citizen Lab published its findings, on October 2, 2018, Saudi operatives killed Khashoggi inside the country's consulate in Istanbul. Abdulaziz has said he cannot definitively link the spyware operation against his own phone to Khashoggi's killing, but the timing raised serious questions about how Saudi authorities may have learned of Khashoggi's private communications and views before his death.123

No public accountability measure for the spyware operation against Abdulaziz's phone is reported in the source reviewed.123

What reason was given

Stated justification

Not stated in the sources reviewed; no Saudi government justification for the spyware operation against Abdulaziz's phone is quoted in the source.123

What changed for reporting

Surveillance of a journalist's close collaborator exposed private communications and views the journalist believed were confidential, one day before he was killed inside his own country's consulate.1

Timeline

2018

1 October 2018
Saudi Arabia: spyware on an associate's phone precedes Jamal Khashoggi's killing by one day

Who acted

NameRole in this incidentOffice at the time
Salman bin Abdulaziz Al SaudotherKing of Saudi Arabia

Outlets and journalists

NameKindRelation
Jamal Khashoggijournalist, The Washington Postaffected
Omar Abdulazizjournalistaffected

Sources

  1. How the Saudis may have spied on Jamal KhashoggiCommittee to Protect Journalists, 2018-10-31, reporting. Source record
  2. Saudis behind NSO spyware attack on Jamal Khashoggi's familyThe Guardian, 2021-07-18, reporting. Source record
  3. Probe: Journalists, activists among firm's spyware targetsAssociated Press, 2021-07-18, reporting. Source record

Claims and evidence

Each numbered claim quotes the source it rests on.

  1. Saudi operatives killed Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul one day after Citizen Lab published its findings on the spyware attack against his associate.Saudi operatives murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in IstanbulHow the Saudis may have spied on Jamal Khashoggi, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2018-10-31.Claim 528, checked 2026-09-22.
  2. Citizen Lab found with a high degree of confidence that Abdulaziz had been targeted with Pegasus spyware linked to Saudi operators.with a high degree of confidenceHow the Saudis may have spied on Jamal Khashoggi, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2018-10-31.Claim 621, checked 2026-09-22.
  3. Abdulaziz and Khashoggi were collaborating on plans for a news and human rights website.plans for a news and human rights websiteHow the Saudis may have spied on Jamal Khashoggi, Committee to Protect Journalists, 2018-10-31.Claim 622, checked 2026-09-22.