French Court Dismisses Morocco’s Defamation Case in Pegasus Spyware Scandal

The Paris Court of Appeal confirmed the decision of the court of first instance which had declared the Moroccan complaints inadmissible in the Pegasus affair, judicial sources told EFE. The Moroccan authorities were demanding the conviction for defamation of French media (Le Monde, Radio France, France Média Monde, Médiapart, L’Humanité) gathered within the Forbidden Stories consortium, and Amnesty International, for having cited them in their investigation on Pegasus published in 2021.

According to the investigation, Morocco, a client of NSO, the Israeli company that developed Pegasus, would have used this software to spy on several personalities including French President Emmanuel Macron and members of his government, as well as journalists and members of civil society. The kingdom has denied these accusations and called on the media and Amnesty International to provide proof of their allegations. Seeing no reaction from them, it launched a series of legal proceedings for defamation in France, Spain and Germany against the authors of publications on this subject.

This "Pegasus affair" has cooled relations between France and Morocco, already strained by France’s mixed position on the Sahara issue and Paris’ rapprochement with Algeria. In February, King Mohammed VI recalled his ambassador to France and the post has remained vacant since then. President Macron is expected in Morocco, but no date has yet been announced. Nevertheless, the French authorities continue to describe relations with Morocco as "exceptional". In Morocco, things are clearer. Relations with France are "neither good nor friendly".