Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Rabat – A new report from NGO Forbidden Stories has accused Morocco of using NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware to “spy” on journalists and political activists.
In the report, Forbidden Stories listed several countries, accusing them of being NSO clients.
In addition to Morocco, the report singled out Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Hungary, India, and other countries worldwide.
“As the Pegasus Project will show, many of them have not been afraid to select journalists, human rights defenders, political opponents, businesspeople and even heads of state as targets of this invasive technology.”
In response to the claims in the report, Morocco’s government issued a press release denying all allegations against the country.
The government said it was “surprised” to see the allegations going viral online, accusing foreign newspapers affiliated with the Forbidden Stories NGO of using “fake materials.”
The statement said Morocco rejects “these false allegations,” stressing that they are “baseless.”
The Moroccan government emphasized that such allegations are not new as they were also voiced by Amnesty International last year.
In late June 2020, Amnesty International released an “investigation” in which it accused Morocco of using NSO’s Pegasus against Moroccan journalists.
After Morocco challenged Amnesty’s findings, “demanding evidence for the published contents,” the NGO failed to produce conclusive evidence but continued to portray the North African country as a “police state” and a “chronic abuser” of human rights.
The new report by Forbidden Stories appears to be a replica of the 2020 report from Amnesty International. Although Forbidden Stories’ report is slightly different, especially for pointing figures against other countries, its main focus remains the alleged deterioration of the state of human rights and individual freedoms in Morocco.
The Forbidden Stories report came to a conclusion when a diplomatic representative issued a brief statement voicing concern with the context of the questions and requesting the existence of documentation showing the relationship between Morocco and NSO Group.
In a statement it issued after Forbidden Stories’ report made the headlines, the Moroccan government denounced the claims and the biased approach featured in the report. In addition to requesting that the NGO produce evidence for its claims, the government maintained that Morocco is a “state of law.”
According to Morocco’s constitution and laws, all citizens and residents are entitled to confidentiality of personal communication.
“It is not possible, by the power of the constitution, to authorize access to the content of personal communications, publishing them, or using them against anyone, except by a judicial order issued by the independent judicial authority, and in accordance with the conditions and provisions provided by law,” argued the government’s statement.
The government said that it is aware of the reasons why such false allegations are relentlessly promoted by world-renowned NGOs like Amnesty International despite the lack of factual evidence that can be examined by professional and independent country experts.
The government said that it reserves the right to take actions against “false allegations” made by the aforementioned press coalition that seek to harm the country’s image, its accomplishments in freedom and basic rights, and its legal status.
Last year, Morocco repeatedly called on Amnesty International to provide legitimate evidence other than what is stated in its report that featured an “investigation” on the alleged use of NSO’s Pegasus against detained journalist Omar Radi.
“We, in the Moroccan government, are still insisting on providing us with a copy of the report of scientific expertise that was adopted to make these unfounded accusations, or publishing it to the public,” Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said last year in July in response to Amnesty International’s report.
The government also denied claims that Amnesty International had sent correspondence to Morocco before the publication of its report.
The NGO’s report further depicted Morocco as a repressive country. It notably accused the country of oppressing journalists and violating freedom of expression, without presenting any proof or pointing out the Moroccan government’s position.
Last year, Amnesty International lost its case against NSO Group after the Tel Aviv District Court ruled against its complaint.
In January 2020, the NGO filed a request seeking to strip NSO of its export license.
District Court Judge Rachel Lavi Barkai said that the NGO failed to provide evidence to prove NSO’s technology was used to spy on journalists and activists from Amnesty International.
