In this age of cyber crime and cyber warfare, no one is safe.

The illegal blockade of Qatar, which is now more than a year old, was launched on the back of a false story posted in Qatar News Agency’s website after the site was hacked.

And now, Dr Ali bin Smaikh Al Marri, Chairman of Qatar’s National Human Rights Committee (NHRC), said siege countries were continuing with their attempts to hack the NHRC website as well as spy on mobile phones of human rights activists and journalists in the country, according to The Peninsula.

This is being done with the aim of restricting and obstructing their work.

Dr Al Marri made this revelation while attending the 13th National Human Rights Institutions Conference in Marrakesh, Morocco, yesterday.

He was meeting with the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Michel Forst and Special Envoy for Freedom of Religion or Belief at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway Ambassador Aud Marit Wiig.

Dr Al Marri spoke about the hardships faced by media figures in Qatar, originally belonging to the siege nations, who were threatened to be stripped of their citizenship, reported Qatar Tribune.

Dr Al Marri also called on European mechanisms concerned with freedom of religion to investigate violations by Saudi authorities of the right to practice Haj and Umrah rituals by pilgrims from Qatar.

“We’re ready to make all arrangements for a visit by the special rapporteur to Qatar to meet the victims of the violations perpetrated by the siege countries,” Dr Al Marri said.

He said restrictions were not limited to just individuals, but also to Qatar-based civil society organisations and institutions, which were classified as terrorist organisations by siege nations.