This Amnesty International report documents Morocco’s extensive surveillance ecosystem, revealing how the Directorate-General for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) systematically targets human rights defenders, journalists, and activists using a combination of unlawful surveillance, smear campaigns, and judicial harassment.
Key Findings
The Surveillance Arsenal:
–Pegasus Spyware (NSO Group): Morocco was among the first countries to use this highly invasive spyware (from 2017, possibly beyond 2021). The DGST was NSO’s largest customer based on unique targets—nearly 13,000 phone numbers selected. Morocco’s codename was « Morgan. »
–Other Spyware: Hacking Team’s RCS (Remote Control System), used since at least 2009, with up to 2,000 device licenses; FinSpy (Gamma Group/FinFisher); and Circles (SS7-based tracking).
–Mass Surveillance: Eagle/Cerebro (Amesys/Nexa) for country-wide internet interception; Verint’s Reliant 12 for unified communications data collection.
–Physical Tools: IMSI catchers, Cellebrite UFED for device extraction, NightHawk for camera intrusion, GPS trackers, hidden microphones/cameras, and pre-infected phones sold in shops.
–Human Sources: Neighbors, shopkeepers, and informants recruited to report on targets.
-Telecom Cooperation: Maroc Telecom facilitated network injection attacks and provided direct access to calls and data.
The Three-Pronged Strategy:
-Unlawful Surveillance – Warrantless, without judicial oversight, targeting HRDs for their legitimate work. Extends to family, friends, and professional networks.
–Smear Campaigns – State-aligned media (« defamation media » like Chouf TV, Barlamane, Le360) publish private/intimate material obtained through surveillance, especially targeting women. Coordinated inauthentic behavior on social media, with paid commenters.
–Judicial Harassment – Politically motivated charges, unfair trials, imprisonment, and pressure to give false testimony.
Human Impact:
-Pervasive chilling effect: self-censorship, psychological harm, social/professional isolation
-Case studies include Maati Monjib, Omar Radi, Soulaiman Raissouni, Kholoud Mokhtari, Fouad Abdelmoumni, Afaf Bernani, and Sahrawi activists
-Whistleblower « Safir » (former DGST agent) confirms: « There are written laws, but they don’t apply… We start with the verdict. »
Transnational Repression: Morocco targeted activists, journalists, lawyers, and even foreign officials (including French President Macron and Spanish ministers) across Europe, particularly France and Spain, using the same Pegasus infrastructure.
Corporate Complicity: Companies including NSO Group, Hacking Team/Memento Labs, Verint/Cognyte, Amesys/Nexa/Datafusion, Cellebrite, and Interionet supplied the technology enabling these abuses.
« We start with the verdict. »
A former Moroccan intelligence officer just exposed the country’s surveillance machine—and it’s darker than we imagined.
A new Amnesty International report reveals how Morocco’s DGST used Pegasus spyware, IMSI catchers, phone tapping, hidden cameras, and a network of informants to surveil activists, journalists, and human rights defenders. Not because they committed crimes—but because they spoke out.
What they found:
-Morocco was NSO Group’s LARGEST Pegasus customer—nearly 13,000 numbers selected for targeting
-Spies infected phones in internet cafés, airports, and even sold pre-hacked phones to activists
-Intimate videos from bedroom cameras were leaked to smear media to shame and silence critics
-The same spyware used on Moroccan activists was used on French President Macron and Spanish ministers
-A whistleblower confirms: « There are no limits for us to get the work done. »
The goal? Not just to spy—but to destroy. To make an example of « the big ones » so « the little ones will be afraid. »
Journalists. Lawyers. Sahrawi activists. Women human rights defenders targeted with sexualized smears. Families and children caught in the web. A chilling effect that silences a nation.
Morocco denies it all. The forensic evidence says otherwise.
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Morocco, Pegasus, Surveillance, Human Rights, Amnesty International, Press Freedom, Spyware, Techno Authoritarianism, Western Sahara
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