The Uk High Court ruled that the custody dispute is ongoing as Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum used agents from Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to hack and monitor the cell phones of his ex-wife, Princess Haya Bint Hussein, her legal advisers and staff. Britain's most senior family court judge, Andrew McFarlane, said in a ruling on Wednesday that he found sheikh Mohammed using hackers to hack Princess Haya, her personal assistant, her lawyers Baroness Shackleton and Nicholas Peres, as well as two of her personal security staff, using hacking "Pegasus" software, which was licensed by an Israeli company to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. The software used includes tracking the location of targets, answering their calls, accessing their contact lists, passwords, calendars, and photos, and reading messages received through apps, emails, and text messages. McFarlane said in his ruling, "These findings are an entire abuse of trust and, in fact, an abuse of power." "It's an abuse that the father challenges with these allegations and directs lawyers in ways that complicates the abuse." Despite the solid evidence, the fact of the hack was never acknowledged, nor did Pegasus admit it," McFarland said. Princess Haya, the ruler of Dubai, sought a court order to prevent the child's forced marriage Princess Haya, the wife of dubai ruler, sought a court order to prevent the child from being forced into marriage "At any stage, the father did not express any concerns about the mother caring for the child because her phone was hacked and her security system was infiltrated. Instead, he assembled a strong team of forensic doctors to challenge the discoveries his mother sought and fight her at every point. The verdict was released on Wednesday after the Family Division of the High Court lifted the one-year-long reporting limit. In a statement on Wednesday, Sheikh Mohammed challenged the verdict, saying it was based on "an incomplete photograph" and "I have consistently denied the allegations against me and I will continue to do so." These problems are related to the presumed operation of national security. As a head of government involved in private family litigation, it is not appropriate for me to provide evidence on these sensitive issues, either personally or through my advisers in foreign courts. Neither the Emirate of Dubai nor the UAE were parties to these lawsuits, nor did they attend the hearings. Therefore, the findings are inevitably based on an incomplete picture," his statement said. "In addition, the findings are based on evidence that was not disclosed to me or my advisers. So I think it's unfair. Dubai is one of the seven emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates.
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Since Sheikh Mohammed is the ruler of Dubai and also the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE, his lawyers argue that the principle of foreign State Conduct (FAS), which prohibits courts from investigating the legality of foreign conduct, undermines the jurisdiction of the UK High Court in this case. In January, Judges MacFarland and Martin Chamberlain ruled that the FAS principle did not prevent the court from ruling on Princess Haya's claim. The findings are part of a series of hearings held by Princess Haya in London after Princess Haya ruled in March 2020 that Sheikh Mohammed had previously organized the abduction of his two daughters and forcibly returned them to Dubai, where he held them against their will. The sheikh has repeatedly denied all the claims made in the ongoing case.