Allegations of a Surveillance Ecosystem in Morocco
On Thursday, Amnesty International accused Morocco of establishing a comprehensive "surveillance ecosystem" designed to silence journalists and human rights defenders through the deployment of spyware programs and covert filming, including within the confines of their own homes. The London-based organization claims that its report relies on the testimony of a former employee from the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), alongside documents revealed through leaks and journalistic investigations.
This is not the first time Morocco has faced accusations regarding intrusive surveillance methods. For several years, Amnesty International and various international media outlets have alleged that the country has utilized the Pegasus spyware, developed by the Israeli company NSO Group, to target journalists, activists, and political figures. Morocco has consistently and categorically denied these allegations, asserting that it is a "rule of law" state that upholds the confidentiality of personal communications. In the past, Moroccan authorities have demanded that Amnesty provide evidence for these "arbitrary accusations."
High-Tech Surveillance Practices and Human Rights Violations
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International, stated in a press release that "Morocco has fully adopted tech-authoritarian practices, acquiring a wide array of surveillance technologies that facilitate the establishment and operation of a repressive system specifically designed to instill fear among human rights activists and journalists, silencing them and obstructing their work both within Morocco and abroad." According to Amnesty, Moroccan authorities employ "high-tech tools" alongside more traditional techniques, such as physical surveillance and wiretapping.
The organization highlights that individuals are filmed and recorded without their knowledge during detentions, in their offices, in personal vehicles, and even in their bedrooms. Furthermore, the calls of those under surveillance are systematically recorded and monitored, and phone shops reportedly sell mobile devices pre-installed with malware by the DGST. Amnesty claims that intimate data obtained in such manners is sometimes used to fuel defamation campaigns against activists, particularly women, in an effort to discredit them in the public eye.
Amnesty International asserts that the Moroccan authorities utilized Pegasus from 2017 to 2021, and even beyond. However, the organization contends that this spyware is merely one of many tools, as the Moroccan government has purportedly acquired several other surveillance technologies from companies based in Israel, the European Union, and the United States. The NGO is calling on Morocco to cease its surveillance of activists and journalists and to initiate an independent investigation into the DGST.
As reported by es-us.noticias.yahoo.com.
