YouTuber Wins £3M After Assault, Phone Hacking by Saudi Agents

A courageous voice for human rights just won a major legal victory that sends a powerful message about protecting free speech.

Ghanem Al-Masarir, a 45-year-old satirist whose YouTube videos criticizing the Saudi royal family have reached nearly 350 million views, was awarded more than £3 million by London's High Court this week. The ruling came after judges determined Saudi Arabia's government hacked his phones and orchestrated a brutal assault against him outside Harrods in 2018.

The attack left Al-Masarir with eye injuries after two men followed him through Knightsbridge, punching him and calling him a "slave of Qatar." Only the intervention of brave passersby prevented more serious harm. "The punches were very vicious and with intent," Al-Masarir recalled in his witness statement.

But the physical violence was just one part of a much larger campaign of intimidation. The court found that Saudi agents had infected Al-Masarir's phones with sophisticated Pegasus spyware, transforming them into surveillance devices that tracked his every move, recorded his calls, and secretly accessed his cameras and microphones.

Mr Justice Saini didn't mince words in his ruling. He called the surveillance "exceptionally grave invasions" of privacy and said Saudi Arabia "stood no realistic prospect" of defending its actions. When the Saudi government failed to even submit a defense, the judge entered summary judgment in Al-Masarir's favor.

Al-Masarir moved to England from Saudi Arabia in 2003 and was granted asylum in 2018. His satirical videos exposing corruption became so popular that they posed a genuine threat to the regime he criticized.

Why This Inspires

This verdict represents something remarkable. A single activist with a camera and an internet connection built an audience of hundreds of millions, spoke truth to power, and when that power tried to silence him through violence and surveillance, the British legal system stood firm.

The ruling establishes an important precedent that state immunity cannot shield governments from accountability when they violate human rights on foreign soil. It proves that courts can and will protect activists who exercise their right to free speech, even against wealthy and powerful adversaries.

While Al-Masarir has suffered severe depression and rarely leaves his house anymore, this victory validates his courage. The £3 million award acknowledges the devastating personal cost of standing up for what's right.

Justice prevailed, and a whistleblower's voice was heard.