Turan Kışlakçı

Surveillance

Turan Kışlakçı was selected for surveillance with the Pegasus spyware in 2018. Forbidden Stories was unable to analyze his phone to confirm the infection.

Who is he?

Turan Kışlakçı is a Turkish journalist. He heads the Turkish-Arab Media Association. In 2012, he received the “Honor and Courage medal” from the National Transitional Council of Libya for his work on the Arab Spring as editor in Arabic for the Turkish news wire Annadolu Agency. In 2011, he also published one of the first books on the Arab Spring, in which he analyzed the beginnings of these revolutions and what made them a unique historical event in the Arab world. In 2015, he was appoinded director of the TRT channel in arabic.

In 2018, Kışlakçı appeared frequently in the media demanding for the truth to come out about the murder of his friend Jamal Khashoggi, a journalist killed in the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

Response

Emirati authorities did not respond to detailed questions sent by Forbidden Stories and its partners. NSO Group did not answer Forbidden Stories’ questions on specific targets but said it “will continue to investigate all credible claims of misuse and take appropriate action based on the results of these investigations.”