Moroccan head of government Saad-Eddine El Othmani wrote to Amnesty International insisting that the organization present "physical evidence" supporting his report that Morocco hacked a journalist's phone with spyware, announced an official statement on Thursday. Otherwise, the kingdom "will take the necessary measures to defend its national security" and "enlighten public opinion" on these "allegations" , said the press release relayed by the Moroccan press agency MAP.
Amnesty claims in its report that the phone of Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist and human rights activist, was spied on using Pegasus software from the Israeli firm NSO, which the organization said was used by the Moroccan authorities. Last week, the Moroccan authorities summoned the local director of Amnesty International, asking him to provide evidence on these "serious and tendentious accusations" , but without obtaining a response.
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In the absence of evidence, this is "an unjust international smear campaign" dictated by "an agenda unrelated to the defense of human rights , " said the press release, which denounces the "systematic and continuous relentlessness " Of Amnesty " against the interests of Morocco " . In addition, Morocco assures "not to have the technology of NSO" , as told AFP Thursday a senior government official, on condition of anonymity.
Moroccan justice announced last week that it had opened an investigation into Omar Radi, which it suspects of benefiting from "foreign funding" in connection with "intelligence services" . According to the press release published on Thursday, the journalist is "undergoing a judicial investigation for alleged breach of state security, due to his links with a liaison officer from a foreign country" who has worked "under diplomatic cover since 1979 in several regions of tension " in the world.
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The journalist told AFP last week that the legal action had "a direct link" with the Amnesty report, describing the charges against him as "ridiculous" . He has since been summoned twice by the judicial police. In March, he was given a four-month suspended prison sentence for criticizing a judge on Twitter. Amnesty had published in October a first report on the spying of the phones of two Moroccan activists using the same Pegasus software.
