Join on WhatsApp 
Join on Telegram Rabat – A new report has contradicted claims made by hostile parties to Morocco, which frequently accuse Rabat of allegedly being involved in espionage activities targeting Spanish officials.
The 2023 Annual National Security Report makes no reference to Morocco in the “Espionage section,” challenging allegations of Morocco’s involvement in using Pegasus spyware against activists, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, and other officials during the 2021 crisis between Rabat and Madrid.
Despite the persistent accusations leveled against Morocco, the report made no mention or reference to the North African country as being involved in alleged spying operations.
The report echoes Spain’s government position denying Morocco’s alleged involvement in an espionage affair targeting Spanish officials.
In March last year, the Spanish news agency EFE quoted government sources from Spain as rejecting the unproven spying allegations targeting Morocco.
The sources described the allegations as “mere speculation,” asking: “On what basis are these accusations based?”
The Pegasus claims came to light in 2021 after NGOs Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories accused Morocco of using Pegasus spyware to spy on activists, journalists, and foreign officials.
In response, Morocco’s government called on Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories to provide evidence to back their claims.
But the NGO and its media consortium failed to present evidence proving Morocco’s alleged involvement in the use of the spyware.
Despite the manifest lack of evidence supporting the Pegasus allegations targeting Morocco , members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have been engaged in hostile campaigns against the North African country
In June last year, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for an investigation into the North African country’s alleged use of the Pegasus spyware.
In the resolution, MEPs claimed there were “strong indications” of Morocco’s use of Pegasus.
Morocco responded in strong terms against the allegations, condemning the European parliament’s hostile campaigns against Moroccan territorial integrity and interference in its judiciary system.
In February last year, a lawyer representing Morocco in the Pegasus case reiterated the absence of any evidence linking Morocco to the use of Pegasus.
Explicit mention of China, Russia
While the 2023 Annual National Security Report makes no reference to Morocco, it does mention the presence of intelligence services (IS) from China and Russia.
“Chiese IS remains very active in obtaining information about EU and NATO decisions, especially those related to the EU’s position on topics of interest to China,” the report reads.
It also mentions the use of “non-traditional agents by Chinese intelligence services for obtaining information as well as for “interference in administration decisions affecting China’s interest.”
As for Russia, the report said that the country has continued to “rely on traditional hybrid tools such as “influence agents, NGOs, and pro-Russian associations.”
According to the report, Russian intelligence services notably continue to “carry out intelligence activities” that aim to gather information on the war in Ukraine.
“The limited presence of Russian Intelligence officers in Spain and the difficulty they have in accrediting new ones force Russian IS to use other tools to develop their activities.”
