Published 14:14 IST, February 3rd 2020
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos sued for defamation by girlfriend’s brother over leaked photos
Brother of Jeff Bezos’ girlfriend sued the Amazon CEO for falsely claiming the former provided intimate photographs of the couple to the National Enquirer
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In a further twist to Amazon chief executive officer Jeff Bezos' phone controversy, brother of Jeff Bezos' girlfriend sued the Amazon chief executive officer for falsely claiming that the former provided intimate photographs of the couple to the National Enquirer. The American tabloid newspaper had published the reports of Bezos’ affair with Lauren Sanchez which caused an international controversy around the hacking of Amazon CEO’s phone.
According to a Bloomberg report, Michael Sanchez filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles County Superior Court against Bezos and Gavin de Becker, a security consultant working for the top executive. In the filing, Michael claimed that he didn’t provide the photographs to the National Enquirer but had agreed to “cooperate strategically” to contain the backlash against his sister and Bezos.
Recently, the United Nations experts have called for immediate investigations in Saudi Arabia’s possible involvement in hacking Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ phone. A report by The Guardian had suggested that Bezos’ mobile phone got hacked after receiving a WhatsApp message from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman in 2018.
Connection to leaked images, Khashoggi's murder
The alleged involvement of Saudi Crown Prince and his inner circle in the hacking of The Washington Post owner’s phone has opened can of worms as the incident was followed by the revelation of Bezos’ extramarital affair and murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Post’s columnist. In December, Saudi Arabia court convicted eight people in the killing of The Washington Post columnist but exonerated inner circle of MBS.
Agnes Callamard, UN Special Rapporteur on summary executions and extrajudicial killings, and David Kaye, UN Special Rapporteur on freedom of expression, said in a joint statement that the information suggests the possible involvement of the Crown Prince in surveillance of Bezos. The experts opined that the allegations reinforce the reports of targeted surveillance of ‘perceived opponents’.
“These allegations are relevant as well to ongoing evaluation of claims about the Crown Prince's involvement in the 2018 murder of Saudi and Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi,” the duo said.
14:14 IST, February 3rd 2020