Rabat – Moroccan authorities have demanded that Amnesty International (AI) submits proof to substantiate its claims that Morocco used Israeli spyware Pegasus to spy on activists.
When the Pegasus scandal broke out last summer, Morocco was among the countries that AI and its collaborators of the Pegasus Project accused of being surveillance states bent on illegitimately spying on journalists, activists, and political dissidents.
The accusations have still been holding currency in some circles despite AI’s inability to provide tangible proof of Morocco’s association with the Israeli spyware, and several numbers and countries on the list have been retracted by AI. The Moroccan government is once again calling on AI to provide proof for its allegations.
Morocco’s demand for proof is “in accordance with the long-standing professionalism and objectivity of human rights’ tradition,” the Moroccan government said in a statement.
Issued on Friday, the statement further responds to the latest wave of accusations of malicious surveillance AI leveled at Morocco on March 9
As well as rejecting what officials described as AI’s unfounded and fabricated allegations, the statement noted that Morocco was “astonished” to see AI produce new accusations while it still has not provided proof for its earlier unproven claims.
After repeatedly turning to the executive director of AI Morocco, asking for proof for said accusations, Moroccan authorities did not receive any response, the press release stressed.
Morocco’s head of government has previously addressed the international organization in July of 2020 demanding proof, the statement specifies.
When the Pegasus Project first published its “findings” in July of last year, Morocco’s head of government requested AI clarifications and proof. With AI failing to answer Morocco’s initial request, the government’s statement added, the country renewed its request for proof on February 28 of this year.
In both instances, however, the government’s statement concluded, the advocacy group was unable to substantiate its accusations.
Last year, Morocco filed a number of defamation lawsuits against Amnesty International and another NGO for the reputational damage caused by the report accusing Morocco of using Pegasus.
Morocco has equally filed multiple lawsuits against international news outlets for continuously citing Morocco in their report of the unsubstantiated accusations.
A number of public figures in France backed Morocco at the outset of the Pegasus scandal, with many experts questioning the accuracy of the Pegasus allegations.
Bernard Squarcini, former head of the French Central Directorate of Domestic Intelligence (DCRI), stated last year it was “highly improbable” Morocco would have used the Israeli-made spyware to spy on senior French officials, including President Emmanuel Macron.
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