Amnesty says Moroccan intelligence agency deployed spyware to monitor journalists and activists

Amnesty International’s latest study accuses Morocco’s domestic intelligence service (DGST) of operating an extensive surveillance network aimed at silencing critical voices. Drawing on a whistleblower’s account, leaked files and prior journalistic work, the report says the agency deployed Pegasus spyware, concealed microphones and phones pre-loaded with malware from 2017 to 2021. Evidence shows phone numbers of 65 civil-society actors—34 human-rights defenders, 22 journalists, plus politicians and diplomats—were targeted, with calls and recordings captured in offices, homes and even bedrooms.

The whistleblower also described spyware being installed in internet cafés and at airports, and a hidden microphone found in journalist Omar Radi’s apartment. Amnesty matched 103 Moroccan numbers to the Pegasus system and highlighted purchases of surveillance tools from firms in Israel, the EU and the United States. The organization urges Morocco to stop the spying and asks other states to suspend spyware sales until human-rights safeguards are in place.