Reporters Without Borders to Sue Morocco Over Pegasus Spyware Attacks on Journalists

Some journalists victims of espionage by the Pegasus software point an accusing finger at Morocco. This is the case of the Spanish journalist Ignacio Cembrero, a specialist in the Maghreb and the Middle East, currently at El Confidencial and former correspondent in Rabat for El País. According to statements published by the French newspaper Le Monde, the Moroccan intelligence services would have infiltrated his phone with the Pegasus software to have access to his conversations with high-ranking Spanish officials and personalities in government and the military. The independent journalist, Sonia Moreno, former director of Correo Diplomático, correspondent of La SER in Rabat and contributor to the online media El Español and ElDiario.es, also claims to have been spied on by Morocco with the Israeli Pegasus software.

"The revelations about the use of the Pegasus spyware are shocking and disgusting, given the scale of surveillance and targeting of journalists. No, the NSO Group does not contribute to global security and stability, contrary to what it claims. Pegasus is a vile and disgusting tool, invented by digital mercenaries and prized by ’predators of press freedom’ to persecute journalists," deplored Christophe Deloire, Secretary General of Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

"In 2020, we classified NSO as a ’digital predator’ and contributed, among other things, to the WhatsApp complaint in the United States against the Israeli company. We will do everything in our power to have the company convicted for the crimes committed and the tragedies it makes possible," continued Christophe Deloire. And to add: "The courts of democratic countries must take up this particularly serious case, establish the facts and punish those responsible. RSF will take legal action in one or more countries, based on the procedures currently being developed. We invite journalists and the media to contact RSF to join the necessary judicial response to the revelations about the Pegasus software".

According to an investigation conducted by Forbbiden Stories, the association that brings together about twenty media, including The Washington Post, The Guardian, Le Monde, and whose results were published on July 18, at least 180 journalists from 20 countries were targeted between 2016 and June 2021 by two clients of the Israeli group NSO, including Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Morocco and Bahrain.