Spanish journalist faces Morocco in court over spyware claim

A Spanish journalist goes on trial on Friday in Madrid after Morocco accused him of falsely claiming its security services had spied on him using cutting-edge software installed on his phone.

In 2021, the reporter Ignacio Cembrero was named in a report by the media organisation Forbidden Stories as having been a target of Pegasus, a brand of malware which can monitor activity on mobile phones after being secretly installed. The report named 20 countries — among them Morocco — whose governments allegedly had access to the software.

WhatsApp messages

Mr Cembrero, who specialises in North Africa and reports for El Confidencial news site, among others, was the only Spanish target identified in the report.

In an article for El Confidencial at the time, in which he described the surveillance to which he believed he was subjected, he wrote that “the Moroccan secret services had read my WhatsApp messages”, citing information they had gleaned from him which could not have come from any other source.

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Morocco has brought a civil suit against Mr Cembrero, calling for him to retract his claims that the country used Pegasus against him and to pay legal costs. It also wants the judge in the case to declare that Morocco, which denies it is a client of the Israeli-based company which developed the malware, has not used Pegasus.

Rabat has hired the Madrid-based lawyer Ernesto Díaz-Bastien to argue its case. He is known for defending Augusto Pinochet when a Spanish judge issued an arrest warrant for the former Chilean dictator during a visit to Europe.

Mr Díaz-Bastien’s law company told The Irish Times that it would not respond to requests for information on an ongoing case. Last year, the firm issued a statement describing as “false, malicious and libellous the news against the Kingdom about supposedly illicit surveillance of Spanish citizens.”

Its statement added: “The Kingdom of Morocco has never acquired and nor has it used the so-called Pegasus programme.”

The Moroccan embassy in Madrid was not available for comment.

Morocco has already been unsuccessful in attempting to sue for libel several French media which reported on the country’s alleged use of Pegasus. This time, Morocco’s legal team is using a different — and more unusual — tactic, accusing Mr Cembrero of “boasting” about supposedly being spied upon.

Rabat has taken legal action three times previously against Mr Cembrero — each time without success — including accusing him of “glorifying terrorism”.

He has also featured in cartoons in Morocco’s state-controlled media, which portray him as being on the payroll of the Spanish government.

“I am being harassed by a foreign country which has been harassing me for years, and not only through legal means,” Mr Cembrero told The Irish Times. “They are trying to restrict my freedom of speech.”

Western Sahara

However, he added: “I will continue writing about this region.”

This case takes place against the backdrop of Spain’s complex relationship with Morocco.

Last year, the government of Socialist Pedro Sánchez shifted its stance on western Sahara, ending four decades of neutrality on the issue by backing Morocco’s proposal that the North African territory be granted autonomous status under its tutelage. The move appeared to improve strained relations between Madrid and Rabat, although it drew widespread criticism from within Spain that the Saharan people had been abandoned by a key Mediterranean power.

Pegasus and surveillance software was at the centre of a political storm in Spain in 2022, following revelations that the Spanish intelligence services had spied on Catalan independence leaders. It also emerged that Pegasus had been installed on the phones of Mr Sánchez and several members of his Cabinet — Morocco has rejected several media claims that it was responsible.