A former officer of Morocco’s domestic intelligence service, the DGST, has provided detailed testimony that the kingdom systematically deployed the Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to surveil journalists, human rights defenders, political figures and even foreign heads of government. The whistleblower, identified by the pseudonym “Safir” in a cross-border investigation coordinated by Forbidden Stories and supported by Amnesty International’s Security Lab, described Pegasus as a “monster’s weapon” reserved for highest-priority targets. According to the investigation, the software was supplied via the United Arab Emirates, which allegedly financed the licences and shared access with allied intelligence agencies. Forensic analysis of leaked emails, internal training materials and target lists corroborates the account, indicating that between 2018 and 2019 alone, 768 cyberattacks were directed at 250 mobile phones on Spanish soil, including devices belonging to Sahrawi activists, Algerian diplomats and a colonel of Spain’s Guardia Civil.

Moroccan authorities have consistently rejected all accusations, describing them as a media campaign built on contradictory testimony. Official statements point to a Spanish National Court decision in July 2023 that shelved the case due to a lack of concrete evidence linking any foreign entity to the intrusions, as well as Israel’s refusal to cooperate. Rabat also highlights what it calls glaring inconsistencies in the whistleblower’s narrative, notably a dispute over whether the UAE actually paid for the software. In French proceedings, former defence minister Florence Parly told an investigating judge she had no recollection of the affair and no suspicion towards any state, while Paris has since deepened its strategic partnership with Morocco, culminating in President Macron’s recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara in October 2024.

Viewed from Algiers, the revelations confirm a long-standing pattern of hostile surveillance. Algerian media report that a former ambassador to Madrid, Taous Feroukhi, was among the diplomats targeted, and Sahrawi academic Mohamed Bachir Lahsen, also named as a victim, argues the espionage exposes a “tripartite alliance” of Israel, Morocco and the UAE that channels repressive technology against the Sahrawi cause. In parallel, a study by the Moroccan Observatory for Media and Digital Vigilance, based on over 500 online posts and interactions, documents how the kingdom’s participation in the 2026 World Cup has become a flashpoint for provocative content, with some foreign accounts and pages disseminating sceptical or mocking narratives. The study notes that Moroccan users often react emotionally to perceived slights, amplifying the reach of hostile material and turning digital spaces into arenas of identity-based polarisation, particularly between Moroccan, Egyptian and Algerian accounts.

The juxtaposition of the Pegasus dossier and the World Cup digital monitoring underscores the extent to which Morocco’s image and security apparatus are entangled in transnational information battles. European judicial authorities remain divided: Spain’s criminal investigation is closed, while French magistrates continue to examine the targeting of journalists and lawyers. Victims’ groups say they will pursue cases before European courts, and the consortium of media outlets behind the Pegasus Project has pledged further disclosures. For now, the affair leaves a trail of verified technical traces and sharply contested narratives, with no single jurisdiction having established legal responsibility for the intrusions.