Mexico president calls for probe into alleged government spying

Record ID: 896530

  • Title: Mexico president calls for probe into alleged government spying
  • Date: 22nd June 2017
  • Summary: MEXICO CITY, MEXICO (FILE) (REUTERS) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** BANNER THAT READS #GOVERNMENT SPIES NEWS CONFERENCE IN WHICH ALLEGATIONS WERE MADE THAT THE GOVERNMENT WAS SPYING ON CITIZENS PEOPLE TAKING PHOTOS WITH CELLPHONES JOURNALIST CARMEN ARISTEGUI AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDER MARIO PATRON TALKING AT NEWS CONFERENCE GENERAL VIEW OF NEWS CONFERENCE
  • Embargoed: 7th July 2017 00:12
  • Keywords: spying Pena Nieto investigation Pegasus Israeli scandal Aristegui journalists
  • Location: LAGOS DE MORENO, JALISCO AND MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • City: LAGOS DE MORENO, JALISCO AND MEXICO CITY, MEXICO
  • Country: Mexico
  • Topics: Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0026MD3RR7
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto asked the attorney general's office on Thursday (June 22) to investigate charges the government spied on private citizens, saying he wanted to get to the bottom of the accusations that he called "false."
    Activists, human rights lawyers and journalists in Mexico filed a criminal complaint on Monday following a report that their smartphones had been infected with spying software sold to the government to fight criminals and terrorists.
    The complaint presented to the attorney general's office by nine people followed a New York Times report that some of them had been spied on with software known as Pegasus, which Israeli company NSO Group sold to Mexico's government.
    He said there was no room for "illegal" spying on the private lives of citizens and that the investigation would focus on determining if the charges were backed by evidence and uncovering the source of the accusations.
    During his speech, Pena Nieto appeared to suggest the probe would target both the allegations and the accusers, saying he would use the full force of the law "against those who have hurled these false accusations against the government."
    A presidential aide told Reuters that Pena Nieto misspoke and meant to say the charges would be investigated and that anybody found to have engaged in "illegal" spying would be prosecuted.
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