Relations between Morocco and France have remained tense since France accused Rabat of spying using the Israeli Pegasus software on several French personalities, including President Emmanuel Macron.
The allegations of espionage against the anti-colonialist activist Mehdi Ben Barka, leader of the Third World movement, have provoked a reaction from his family. The former Moroccan opponent is accused of having been a spy who provided information to the Czechoslovak secret services, Státní Bezpečnost (StB) in exchange for substantial payments, in cash or in kind.
Yaïr Lapir, Israel’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, assures that no one has listened to the phone of French President Emmanuel Macron using the Pegasus software. This contradicts the accusations of espionage against Morocco.
The Paris court decided on Monday to postpone the hearing on the admissibility of the proceedings initiated by the Moroccan state against French NGOs and media that accused the kingdom in the Pegasus affair .
During the year 2020, Morocco managed to thwart 400 cyberattacks and hacking attempts carried out by hostile individuals and states.
The journalist Omar Radi, sentenced to six years in prison, will again appear before the judge this Thursday, as part of his appeal trial.
The French justice system has decided to follow up on the defamation complaints filed by Morocco against, among others, Forbidden Stories, Le Monde, Radio France, Mediapart and Amnesty International, who accused it of using the Israeli Pegasus software for espionage purposes. The Paris court will examine the admissibility of the prosecutions on December 6.
Morocco has decided to file a defamation lawsuit in Paris against the French newspaper "L’Humanité", one of the 17 partners of the consortium formed by Forbidden Stories, which is behind the espionage allegations against the kingdom.
Spanish MP Jon Iñarritu has questioned the government of Pedro Sánchez about the alleged espionage of journalist Ignacio Cembrero by Morocco using the Israeli software Pegasus. The parliamentarian wants to know if the Executive has filed a complaint with the Moroccan authorities or if it intends to do so.
The Pegasus affair that has splashed the Israeli company NSO would benefit its competitor Quadream. Last week, representatives of this company would have met with officials of the Moroccan security services to offer their espionage systems.
The reception of Brahim Ghali , the leader of the Polisario Front, in a hospital in Logroño, Spain under a false identity, would have been discovered by Morocco thanks to the Israeli spyware Pegasus.
The lawyer mandated by Morocco in the Pegasus affair launched a few days ago a procedure which gave ten days to Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories to transmit the evidence of their accusations . The ten days have elapsed and the expected evidence could not be transmitted, according to Me Olivier Baratelli, lawyer for Morocco.