Amnesty accuses Morocco of using a «web of surveillance to silence journalists and activists»

International human rights organization Amnesty International has accused Moroccan authorities of operating a surveillance system combining digital and analogue tools to «track, monitor and ultimately silence journalists, activists and other critical voices».

In a report released on October 1, the organization identified the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance (DGST) as «the entity responsible for the deployment of Pegasus spyware in Morocco». Moroccan authorities have repeatedly denied using spyware against citizens.

Titled We start with the verdict: Inside Morocco’s surveillance machine , the report draws on testimony from an alleged former DGST employee, identified under the pseudonym Safir, alongside digital forensic analysis, leaked records and interviews with ten people described as surveillance targets. The NGO says it corroborated key aspects of his testimony through independent sources and technical evidence.

«Our report provides the most detailed picture to date of the tools deployed by the Moroccan authorities, such as high-tech spyware, audio bugging systems and trackers to spy on journalists, human rights defenders and other individuals», Amnesty secretary-general Agnès Callamard said.

Alleged surveillance methods

According to Amnesty’s account of Safir’s testimony, targeted individuals were «secretly filmed and audio recorded while in detention, in their offices and cars, at cafes, and even inside their bedrooms». The organization also alleges that «phone shops were co-opted to sell mobile phones pre-infected with spyware by DGST agents» and that neighbours were recruited as informants.

Amnesty says its forensic research identified several methods of infecting devices, including malicious links, attacks requiring no action by the target and «network injection attacks».

«We infected so many internet cafés with Remote Controlled Spyware (RCS). The field agents tell us which cybercafé the target is visiting, and we had visibility on what they were doing because we had previously infected all the machines there», Safir told the organization.

Regarding journalist Omar Radi, Amnesty cites Safir’s allegation that microphones were «implanted in his apartment’s light fixtures». The report also alleges that activist Fouad Abdelmoumni was «covertly filmed at with his fiancée and the video circulated on WhatsApp» in 2021. According to Amnesty, Safir described this as a «textbook case» of a DGST surveillance operation.

«The tools they use are wide-ranging, but the goal is clear: to blackmail, discredit, shame and, if necessary, unjustly imprison those who speak out in defence of human rights in Morocco», Amnesty Security Lab researcher Rebecca White said.

Findings and responses

Amnesty says it matched 103 Moroccan phone numbers to individuals «selected as potential Pegasus targets», including 65 civil society figures. Being listed does not prove that a phone was infected. The organization also says internal NSO Group documents indicate that company staff «conducted trainings and performed tests demonstrating new capabilities of their spyware product for the benefit of Moroccan authorities».

According to Amnesty, Moroccan authorities did not respond before publication. Memento Labs said it had no active contract with any Moroccan agency, while Verint said it had divested the relevant business in February 2021. Amnesty said the other companies did not respond.

The organization says the investigation involved 14 media organizations coordinated by Forbidden Stories. It called for an independent inquiry into the alleged abuses and a halt to exports of intrusive surveillance technology to Morocco until effective human rights safeguards are in place.