Morocco ramps up efforts to dispute espionage, Pegasus use accusations

Moroccan authorities have intensified efforts to refute allegations that it used the Israeli NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware, according to reports.

Rabat is appealing defamation lawsuits it filed against a French NGO accusing it of espionage, as a government body specialised in data protection opened investigations this week into the accusations, The New Arab’s Arabic language service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported.

In July 2021, a Pegasus investigation by Amnesty International and non-profit French press freedom group Forbidden Stories listed Morocco among dozens of states that spy on opponents, journalists and diplomats using the advanced spyware.

Pegasus can hack into mobile phones without a user knowing, enabling its users to read every message, track a user's location and tap into the phone's camera and microphone.

Morocco’s National Committee for Monitoring the Protection of Personal Data decided to conduct hearings with national and international technical experts, who will share their analysis and conclusions on the matter.

In sessions initiated on Friday and Saturday, the committee received an American expert in espionage programs, Jonathan Scott, and a Canadian expert not named in reports.

A hearing with representatives of Amnesty International also occurred last Thursday, constituting a turning point in the tense relations between Rabat and the organization.

In July 2021, Morocco filed defamation claims before a Parisian Criminal Court against Forbidden Stories. It also filed for defamation against Amnesty.

The Moroccan allegations were dismissed by France on the grounds that "no country can initiate prosecutions for defamation", according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

However, Morocco will reactivate the judicial process before the Court of Appeal in Paris, Olivier Baratelli, a lawyer representing Morocco in France announced on February 17.

The French judiciary will issue its ruling on April 12, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

In their 2021 report, Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International said they gained access to a leak of more than 50,000 records of phone numbers that the clients of Israeli company NSO Group selected for surveillance.