Amnesty International has accused Morocco’s domestic intelligence service (DGST) of conducting unlawful surveillance against journalists and human rights defenders through the use of spyware, hidden microphones, and pre-infected mobile devices. In a report released on Thursday, the NGO described the surveillance infrastructure as “expansive and vast,” asserting that its ultimate purpose is to silence critical voices.
The investigation, titled “Inside Morocco’s Surveillance Machine,” draws on testimony from a former DGST employee, leaked documents, and independent journalistic research. For years, human rights organizations have alleged that Moroccan authorities utilize Pegasus spyware, a tool developed by Israel’s NSO Group, to monitor political figures and activists. Rabat has consistently denied these accusations. Amnesty stated it notified Moroccan authorities four weeks prior to the report’s publication but received no response.
The report identifies the DGST as the agency responsible for deploying Pegasus between 2017 and 2021. According to Amnesty, officials combined these high-tech capabilities with traditional methods such as tailing and wiretapping. The whistleblower claimed that individuals were secretly recorded in detention centers, offices, vehicles, and bedrooms, while phone calls were systematically intercepted. Additionally, the report alleges that shops sold mobile phones pre-infected with malware by DGST agents.
Further details revealed that the agency infected internet cafes with remote-controlled spyware and physically compromised devices at airports. In a notable instance, hidden microphones were installed in the light fixtures of journalist Omar Radi’s apartment prior to his imprisonment.
Amnesty’s Security Lab matched 103 Moroccan phone numbers entered into the Pegasus system between September and December 2017 to specific individuals. Of these, 65 belonged to civil society members, including 34 human rights defenders and 22 journalists. Another 25 numbers were linked to political figures or officials, and five to diplomats or international representatives. Donncha O Cearbhaill, head of Amnesty’s Security Lab, noted that prominent activists and journalists were among the first targets in the system.
The NGO also discovered evidence of spyware distribution via the state-owned Maroc Telecom network and confirmed that Morocco purchased surveillance tools from companies based in Israel, the European Union, and the United States. Personal data gathered on activists was reportedly used to fuel public smear campaigns against them.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty’s secretary-general, stated that Morocco has “wholly embraced techno-authoritarian practices.” The organization is calling on Rabat to end its surveillance activities and urging other nations to halt spyware exports to Morocco until adequate human rights safeguards are implemented. The investigation was conducted in collaboration with 14 media organizations coordinated by Forbidden Stories.
Imagine getting hacked via a phone sold at an airport. That level of intrusion is genuinely terrifying and illegal.
Morocco denies it, but leaked documents and whistleblower testimony are hard to ignore. Justice delayed is still justice denied.
Does this apply to all surveillance globally or just this specific report? I would like to see more technical analysis.
This confirms what so many of us on the ground have suspected for years. It is exhausting but not surprising.
Techno-authoritarianism is rising everywhere. I am deeply concerned about these tactics becoming normalized in democracies too.