Morocco is pointed out in the Pegasus scandal and condemns a false media campaign. The country is one of the top states that since the beginning of the week has been indexed by a consortium of 17 international newspapers for its use of Israeli surveillance software. The case took an even more embarrassing turn with the revelation that the number of French politicians, including one of President Macron’s, could be the target of espionage attempts.
Based on analysis performed by Forbidden Stories, Amnesty International and published in France by the newspaper Le Monde, two Moroccan services are said to be customers of the Israeli company NSO, creator of Pegasus. These are the Directorate-General for Studies and Documentation and the Directorate-General for Territorial Surveillance.
The first, known as DGED, is the country’s foreign intelligence service, specifically responsible for counter-terrorism. It monitors, for example, activists for Western Sahara, including in France, and one can imagine, within the Algerian authorities, the main support of the Polisario Front.
The other, known as DGST, is the internal surveillance service, and according to Forbidden Stories, it would be the main user of the software, to monitor journalists, opponents, politicians, but also follow King Mohamed VI, the people he meets his family, especially his Cousin Hicham Alaoui, the regime’s critic, called the “red prince” and abolished his title.
A historical ally
Troublesome accusations against Rabat, who is one of the main Western allies in intelligence matters and primarily in France, a historical ally. Emmanuel Macron had booked his first presidential trip to Morocco, a sign of close ties, further confirmed by the visit on Monday night by the head of Moroccan diplomacy in Paris to meet his counterpart Jean-Yves Le Drian.
Morocco is known for the efficiency of its services, its human intelligence, but also technical, which has relatively preserved the kingdom from terrorism. Rabat also provided important information about several people in Europe, especially in 2015, which allowed the site of the main perpetrator of the November 13 attacks in Paris, the Belgian-Moroccan Abdelhamid Abaaoud.
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