Pegasus Case: Rabat sues Forbidden Stories & Amnesty International for defamation

Morocco has decided to sue Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories Group which orchestrated the release of false press reports, accusing Rabat of conducting electronic snooping with Israeli Pegasus spyware.

The announcement was made Thursday by French lawyer Olivier Baratelli who has been hired by the North African Kingdom to file the lawsuit in a Paris penal court.
The first hearing has been set for October 8, said the attorney in a press release quoted by French news agency AFP. However, the trial of this case is expected to take place in about two years.

“The Moroccan State intends to take immediately the case to the French justice because it wants that all the light be shed on the false allegations of these two organizations which make claims without the least concrete evidence”, said the French lawyer, noting that such baseless accusations seek only to undermine the Moroccan-French relationship.

Morocco, which has denied any use of the Pegasus spyware, will NOT let those who make such lies and fake news go unpunished, he underlined.

On Wednesday, Moroccan public prosecutor opened an investigation into “false allegations” targeting the Kingdom’s public authorities, its national and constitutional institutions in a bid to undermining the country’s national interests.

The same day, Moroccan government warned that it would take legal action against anyone accusing it of using the Israeli spyware Pegasus and denounced an orchestrated “false, massive, malicious media campaign”.