Amnesty International published an investigation into alleged surveillance of journalists and rights defenders by Morocco’s domestic intelligence service. A former employee’s testimony and leaked data describe covert recording in homes and vehicles alongside phone spyware. The investigation revisits earlier activities and calls for scrutiny of international technology suppliers. Morocco has previously denied Pegasus accusations.
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A new account of earlier surveillance
Amnesty International has published an investigation into alleged surveillance of journalists and human rights defenders by Morocco’s domestic intelligence service. It combines a former employee’s testimony, leaked material and journalistic investigations into earlier activities. The organisation attributes deployment of Pegasus phone spyware to the Directorate-General for Territorial Surveillance, known by its French initials DGST, Morocco’s domestic intelligence agency.[1], [2]
Phones and private spaces
One dataset contained 103 telephone numbers reportedly entered into a Pegasus system between September and December 2017. Amnesty identified 65 as belonging to civil-society figures, including 34 human rights defenders and 22 journalists. According to the former employee, phones could be altered before sale in shops, and concealed audio or video equipment installed in homes and vehicles. The investigation also describes access to devices at airports and elsewhere.[1]
Suppliers and the unanswered questions
The investigation involved 14 media organisations, coordinated by the investigative-journalism network Forbidden Stories. Amnesty said surveillance technology came from suppliers linked to Israel, Europe and the United States, and called for human rights safeguards and scrutiny of the supply chain. Moroccan authorities have previously denied Pegasus accusations. Amnesty says its questions about the new report received no response over four weeks.[1]
