Last July, when a Project Pegasus investigation revealed that a jailed Moroccan journalist Suleiman Raissouni was chosen to be monitored by spyware Pegasus, Israeli production, the journalist could only laugh. “I was so sure!” said his wife Kholud Mokhtari Raissuni from prison.

Raissuni is one of seven local journalists quoted by the Project. Pegasus – research consortium of media organizations – as a potential or confirmed target of spyware Pegasus. The news only confirms what the Moroccan journalistic community has long suspected: a vast state intelligence apparatus is monitoring the every move of some journalists.

Pioneers in surveillance

Moroccan journalists were among the first in the world to denounce the use of spyware against reporters, pointing to digital surveillance as early as 2015. In 2019 and 2020, Amnesty International released the results of forensic medical examinations confirming Pegasus by phone at least two Moroccan journalists, Omar Ray D Maati Monjib. The state’s subsequent actions against some monitored journalists highlighted the continuing threat to independent media in Morocco and confirmed the conclusion of the Committee to Protect Journalists that spyware attacks often precede other press freedom violations.

Both Raissouni and Radi are imprisoned in Morocco on false allegations of sex crimes, which their family and colleagues say are false. Tawfik Buahrinanother journalist who, according to the Project Pegasuswas the subject of spyware, imprisoned on similar charges.

Moroccan journalists were among the first in the world to condemn the use of spyware against journalists.

Project Pegasus it was not possible to analyze the phones of all individuals identified as targets to confirm infection, and the Moroccan government repeatedly denied the use of Pegasus. However, many photos, videos, text messages and private phone calls from the three journalists and their families were published in newspapers and pro-government websites such as Chouf TV, Barlamane.com D Teleexpressand were later used as evidence against journalists in court.

Bouakrin, former editor-in-chief of a local independent newspaper Akhbar al Yum, was arrested in February 2018 and is serving a 15-year prison sentence on multiple allegations of sexual harassment and human trafficking. His wife, Asmae Moussaoui, told the committee by telephone in May 2022 that she believed she was also being followed.

In April 2019, Moussaoui said she called a private communications company based in Washington, D.C. to help her advertise in American newspapers about the Bouacrine case, hoping the publicity would help efforts to free her husband. The next day, Barlaman published an article alleging that Moussaoui had paid the company tens of thousands of euros with the money the journalist allegedly earned from her trafficking activities. Human Rights Watch describes Barlaman as “closely associated with the security services”.

Suspecting that she was being followed, Moussaoui went to one of her husband’s lawyers, who offered to “play a joke” that would help them determine if the authorities were indeed spying on her. The lawyer “called me and offered to talk to Taufik’s alleged victims to reconcile, which we really didn’t intend to do.” The next day, the tabloid press published an article that our family planned to bribe each victim with two million dirhams. [20.150 dólares] quit business. So I was very sure [de la vigilancia]Mussaoui said.

It showed Morocco’s desperation and how far it is willing to go to silence journalists.

Moroccan journalist and press freedom fighter Maati Monjib, co-founder of the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism (AMJI), had a similar experience. Monjib was arrested in December 2020 and sentenced to one year in prison the following month after being found guilty of endangering state security and money laundering fraud. The latest allegation is related to AMJI’s work, which helps investigative journalists apply for grants, Monjib said in a telephone conversation.

“During one of our meetings at AMJI in 2015, I mentioned that we need to look for grants to support more journalists. The next day, one of the tabloids published a story that Maati Monjib gave 5,000 euros. [5.260 dólares] every journalist who criticized the director general of national security. This is proof that they listened to our meeting,” Monjib said.

take precautions

The revelations have forced journalists and their families to take precautions against surveillance, a difficult task given the difficulty of detecting a spyware infection without legal assistance. “[Raissouni] He told me to try to be safe so I am doing my best,” Raisuni Mokhtari’s wife told CPJ.

“In addition to the usual precautions I take to protect my phone, I update it regularly and never store personal photos, important messages or emails on it,” he said. “I also buy a new phone every three months and destroy the old one, which cost my family dearly. But to be honest, there’s no getting away from it. The most tech-savvy person I know is our friend Omar Radi. He took all the necessary measures against hacking, and they still managed to infect his devices.”

Monjib takes his devices to techs almost daily for error checking and cleaning, and he never answers the phone, only uses the encrypted Signal messaging app, and always speaks the code.

For many years there were no independent media or journalistic associations in Morocco.

Aboubakr Jamai, a well-known Moroccan journalist and recipient of CPJ’s International Press Freedom Award in 2003, came under surveillance from Pegasus in 2018 and 2019 – and confirmed as a target in 2019 – although he has been living in France since 2007, according to the project Pegasus. He believes the Moroccan government is to blame for the spyware attacks and that the surveillance effectively brought about the end of independent journalism in the country, he said in a telephone conversation.

In September, the Committee to Protect Journalists emailed the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior for comment, but received no response. “For many years there were no independent media outlets, no associations of journalists,” Jamai said. What’s left now is a handful of people who have strong voices and have chosen to support them using some news websites but mostly social media platforms.”

However, Jamai, who did not believe previous government denials regarding the use of Pegasus– I saw a positive result of spy revelations. “It exposed Morocco’s desperation and how far it is willing to go to silence journalists,” he said. “Now everyone knows that the Moroccan state is using Pegasus spy on journalists.

Committee to Protect Journalists is an independent non-profit organization that promotes freedom of the press around the world. We protect the right of journalists to report safely and not fear reprisals.

This is stated in the report of the committee. “When Spyware Weaponizes Phones: How Clickless Surveillance Threatens Reporters, Sources and Press Freedom Around the World”.