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Despite there being no empirical evidence, the EU continues to slander Morocco by accusing the North African country of espionage with the use of spyware Pegasus.
A number of news outlets recently put the spotlight on the absence of evidence supporting the EU Parliament claims against Morocco in the Pegasus case. The notorious case refers to unproven allegations by NGOs – namely Amnesty International and the consortium Forbidden Stories – that Rabat had used Israeli spyware to spy on activists, journalists, and foreign dignitaries.
On Thursday, the EU Parliament adopted a new resolution calling for an investigation into the North African country’s alleged use of the Pegasus spyware.
In the resolution, MEPs claimed to have seen “strong indications” on Morocco’s use of Pegasus. The MEPs threw similar claims against Rwanda, accusing both countries of spying on “high-profile EU citizens, including heads of state.”
The resolution emerged amid many reports that highlighted the absence of evidence to support the claims.
Spanish news outlet The Independent listed a series of findings from an EU Parliament inquiry commission, which acknowledged the lack of evidence that proves Morocco’s alleged involvement in the use of Pegasus.
The news report specifically highlighted paragraph 330 of the commission’s findings, pointing out that allegations of Morocco spying on Spanish officials “have not been confirmed” despite investigations by both the Spanish government and the EU Commission.
Several other paragraphs echoed the same remark, with the document highlighting the absence of any evidence in support of the spying accusations targeting Morocco.
Furthermore, the Independent recalled a recent remark by the president of the special investigation commission, member of the European Parliament Jeroen Leaners, who emphasized the lack of evidence against Morocco.
In March, the Dutch MEP said the committee lacked proof against Morocco’s involvement in allegedly spying on the phone of Spanish officials like Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.
Read also: Pegasus Case: Spyware Researcher Disproves Allegations Against Morocco
In the same month, the Spanish government also rejected the accusations against Morocco, describing them as “unfounded.”
A report by the Spanish media outlet EFE quoted sources from the Spanish government as describing the allegations as mere “speculation.”
Also reporting on Friday about the latest developments in this affair, Spanish news outlet El Espanol highlighted the absence of evidence against Morocco.
“In its paragraph 330 it also states that there is no evidence to confirm the use of Pegasus by Morocco,” wrote the new outlet. “This rarity was already highlighted by the president of the special investigation commission, Dutch MEP Jeroen Leaners.”
It remains unclear why the European parliament and some of the MEPs persist in promoting the Pegasus claims against Morocco in the absence of proof and evidence in the case.
Many politicians and observers believe that these claims are the result of orchestrations by the French government as France’s leading media outlets have been eager to repeatedly reference the Pegasus claims and other Morocco-bashing reports in their unrelenting coverage of Morocco.
During a recent interview with i24News, renowned Moroccan author Taher Benjelloun opened up about France’s hostile campaign against Morocco at the European Parliament.
In particular, the writer accused French President Emmanuel Macron of sending Stephane Sejourne, president of the Renew Europe group, to the EU Parliament to make a “very anti-Moroccan resolution” in January this year.
The text of the resolution, adopted on January 19, accused Morocco of “harassing” and “intimidating” journalists, activists, and dissidents. Benjelloun stressed that this was part of the French policy to appease Algeria, criticizing Macron’s policy.
