Morocco, accused of having used Pegasus spy software, has decided to sue Amnesty and Forbidden Stories for defamation before the Paris Criminal Court, its lawyer announced Thursday in a statement sent to AFP.
Read also: Pegasus case: Morocco threatens to prosecute its accusers
"
The kingdom of Morocco and its ambassador in France, Chakib Benmoussa, have mandated Me Olivier Baratelli to issue, as of today, two direct citations in defamation
" against these two associations at the origin of the revelations since Sunday on the clients of this software.
A first procedural hearing is scheduled for October 8 before the press law chamber, but the trial is not expected to take place for about two years.
False information and diplomatic crisis according to Morocco
"
The Moroccan state immediately intends to seize the French justice because it wants all the light to be shed on the false allegations of these two organizations which put forward elements without the slightest concrete and demonstrated proof
", accuses Me Baratelli.
"
The Moroccan state considers facing a new list case and that the past has amply demonstrated that it was easy to draw false conclusions from such practices
", adds the lawyer, deploring a "
trial of media intent, unfounded and visibly created from scratch to destabilize the deep diplomatic relationship between Morocco and France
”.
The Shereefian kingdom "
intends not to leave unpunished the multiple lies and fake news propagated in recent days
".
As of Monday, the Moroccan government defended itself by denying having acquired "
computer software to infiltrate communication devices
".
Rabat then threatened Wednesday to "
opt for a judicial process, in Morocco and internationally against any party endorsing these fallacious allegations
".
At the same time, the Moroccan public prosecutor's office announced on Wednesday "
the opening of a judicial investigation into these false allegations and accusations
".
A list of 50,000 phone numbers
Introduced in a smartphone, this software - designed by the Israeli company NSO - allows you to retrieve messages, photos, contacts, and to activate microphones remotely.
Read also: Pegasus affair: the political and diplomatic shock wave
Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International have obtained a list of 50,000 phone numbers, selected by NSO clients since 2016 for potential monitoring, and shared it with a consortium of 17 media outlets who revealed its existence on Sunday.
The list of potential targets includes the numbers of at least 180 journalists, 600 politicians, 85 human rights activists or 65 business leaders, according to the analysis of the consortium - which has located many in Morocco, Saudi Arabia and Mexico.
Tuesday, Le Monde and Radio France, members of the consortium, revealed that a telephone line for the French president was among the "
numbers selected by a Moroccan state security service (...) for potential piracy
". Former Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, 14 members of the government including Jean-Yves Le Drian and Gérald Darmanin, as well as former ministers and political leaders are also on this list according to these media.
