Lebanese anchor of Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV channel, Ghada Oueiss, said on Wednesday that she had filed a lawsuit against Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Salman, Crown Prince of the United Arab Emirates, Mohammed Bin Zayed, and other officials from the two countries accusing them of hacking and extorting her with fabricated nude photos.
The Hill website reported that Oueiss filed the case in the Southern District Court in Florida.
The Lebanese anchor alleged that the Saudi and UAE monarchs, along with a group of Saudi and Emirati officials and US citizens, carried out an operation aimed at undermining her personality and her career in journalism because she reported criticism of the countries’ governments.
Oueiss claimed that nearly 20 defendants in the case have coordinated the hacking of her phone and leaked personal photos, with the help of foreign and local influential figures, with the aim of defaming her.
The defendants include Florida-based Sharon Collins and Hussam Al-Jundi, who allegedly engaged in what the lawsuit described as “harmful acts” and conspiring against Oueiss, including publishing stolen information from her phone.
Photo: Al Jazeera broadcaster Ghada Oueiss [Ghada Oueiss/Facebook]