CPJ calls on Latvian authorities to investigate reports of journalists under state surveillance

The Committee to Protect Journalists is urging the Latvian authorities to respond to reports that state-sponsored hackers have targeted at least three journalists working in the country. CPJ’s call follows revelations this week that the Latvian phone number of Meduza co-founder Galina Timchenko was infected with Pegasus spyware in February.

“Latvian authorities must conduct a swift and transparent investigation into these allegations and ensure the digital and physical safety of journalists who are temporarily or permanently residing in the country,” CPJ Europe and Central Asia program coordinator Gulnoza Said insisted in a statement on Friday.

• On September 14, three Latvia-based journalists — Latvian journalist Evgeniy Pavlov and exiled Russian journalists Evgeniy Erlich and Maria Epifanova — said they’d received threat notifications from Apple about “state-sponsored attackers.”
• On Wednesday, September 13, Meduza revealed in a joint investigation with Access Now and Citizen Lab that co-founder Galina Timchenko’s iPhone was infected with the Israeli-made spyware Pegasus in February 2023, a day before she joined a private conference in Berlin attended by leading members of Russia’s exile independent media.