Amnesty International Report Accuses Moroccan Intelligence of Using Espionage to Silence Journalists and Activists

Amnesty International has released a damning report accusing Morocco’s intelligence agency of deploying spyware, hidden microphones, and pre-infected phones to conduct unlawful surveillance on journalists and human rights defenders. According to the human rights organization, Moroccan authorities operate an extensive surveillance apparatus designed to silence critical voices and activists.

The report, titled Inside Morocco’s surveillance machine, draws on testimonies from a former employee of the Moroccan domestic intelligence service (DGST), alongside leaked documents and journalistic investigations. For years, various NGOs, including Amnesty International, have accused Morocco of utilizing Pegasus spyware—developed by the Israeli NSO Group—to monitor political figures, activists, and journalists. Rabat has consistently denied these allegations, and Moroccan officials were unavailable for immediate comment following the report's publication.

Amnesty identified the DGST as the primary agency responsible for deploying Pegasus between 2017 and 2021. The report details a combination of high-tech digital tools and traditional surveillance methods, including tailing and wiretapping. According to the whistleblower, individuals were secretly recorded in their offices, cars, homes, and even bedrooms. The DGST also allegedly sold pre-infected mobile phones through retail shops and compromised devices physically at airports and internet cafes.

Among the findings, Amnesty matched 103 Moroccan phone numbers entered into the Pegasus system between September and December 2017. The targets included 34 human rights defenders, 22 journalists and media workers, 25 political figures, and five diplomats. Donncha O Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty’s Security Lab, noted that prominent civil society members were among the first targeted. The organization also uncovered evidence of spyware distributed via the state-owned Maroc Telecom network, with technology sourced from Israel, the European Union, and the United States.

Amnesty Secretary-General Agnes Callamard criticized Morocco for embracing techno-authoritarian practices. The organization has urged Moroccan authorities to immediately halt these surveillance operations and called on international governments to suspend spyware exports to the country until robust human rights safeguards are implemented. The investigation was conducted in collaboration with 14 media organizations and coordinated by Forbidden Stories.