by John Atchison

Created on: March 19, 2013

There has been nothing that has captured the imagination of the public more than the lives of celebrities. Whether it is their lives that mirror a fairy tale, or the glitz and glamour that come with it, celebrities have always fascinated the millions of fans they have worldwide. Perhaps no one exemplified these facts better than the late Princess Diana, who captivated the world with her grace and beauty. Unfortunately, it was her allure that led the dreaded paparazzi to dog her everywhere she went and ultimately caused her untimely death in August of 1997.

Princess Diana was hounded everywhere she went from the time she married Prince Charles till they day she died. What some may not realize is that the attack on her privacy reached depths that no one may have thought of. Most of her fans know about her relationship with Dodi Fayed, the son of an Egyptian billionaire, with whom she perished on that fateful night. A name some may not be familiar with is Hasnat Khan, a Pakistani heart and lung surgeon.

He is said to have had a two year relationship with the Princess, which ended months before her untimely death. Being involved with Diana makes privacy an unattainable commodity, but the good doctor found out that the depths the press would go to uncover information went beyond his imagination. Khan was contacted by Scotland Yard during the summer of 2012, where he was made aware of the fact that his personal voicemail may have been hacked in 2007, shortly before the inquest into Diana's passing.

A majority of observers have long equated the paparazzi to scumbags, with their high speed chases of celebrities, and photos taken that go beyond the realm of good taste. However, this latest revelation points out why, although they have some freedom of the press rights, this group of people have got to be reigned in. The hacking of personal voicemail messages crosses into an invasion of privacy and breaking numerous laws.

After Scotland Yard made Khan aware of this possible hacking, the doctor started to fear that this issue may not have just started shortly before the death of Diana. The doctor believes that his voicemails were being compromised back as far as during the time that he was dating Diana. To say that Khan is upset would be an understatement.

Khan is pursuing a case against News International, one of the companies that are possibly linked to the invasion of his privacy. While he is seeking maximum damages, he will donate all that he gets from this case to the heart unit he set up back in his native Pakistan. A source close to Khan was noted in the Telegraph as saying, "To know that someone has been listening to your private messages is awful. It’s absolutely terrible. It feels as if you have been robbed. I feel really violated. I am very angry.”

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