An investigation by Amnesty International has revealed that Omar Radi, a prominent Moroccan investigative journalist, was allegedly targeted with NSO Group’s Pegasus spyware just days after the Israeli cybersecurity firm unveiled a human rights policy in September 2019.
The report, published on June 22, 2020, accuses Moroccan authorities of using the sophisticated surveillance tool to monitor Radi, highlighting ongoing concerns about NSO’s technology being misused to suppress dissent.
Pegasus Attacks on Omar Radi
Amnesty’s forensic analysis of Radi’s iPhone, conducted in February 2020, uncovered evidence of “network injection attacks” on January 27, February 11, and September 13, 2019, with attacks continuing until at least January 2020.
These attacks, which redirect a target’s browser to malicious websites to silently install Pegasus, require no user interaction and leave few traces.
Once installed, Pegasus grants attackers access to messages, emails, media, microphone, camera, calls, and contacts.
Amnesty noted that Radi’s phone was directed to the same malicious site used in a 2019 attack on Moroccan activist Maati Monjib, linking both cases to NSO’s tools.
Radi, a freelance journalist for Le Desk and a member of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), is known for covering human rights, social movements, and land rights corruption.
He has faced harassment from Moroccan authorities, including a suspended four-month prison sentence in March 2020 for a tweet criticizing a judge’s ruling on activists.
Amnesty alleges the surveillance aligns with a broader campaign to silence dissent, noting Radi’s arrest in December 2019 and ongoing interrogations.
NSO’s Human Rights Policy Under Scrutiny
NSO Group, which claims its products are sold exclusively to governments for combating crime and terrorism, released a human rights policy on September 10, 2019, promising to investigate misuse and terminate client access if abuses were found.
However, Amnesty’s findings suggest NSO failed to act after its October 2019 report detailed Pegasus attacks on Moroccan human rights defenders Maati Monjib and Abdessadak El Bouchattaoui.
The attack on Radi just three days after the policy’s release raises questions about NSO’s due diligence.
“NSO has serious questions to answer as to what actions it took when presented with evidence its technology was used to commit human rights violations in Morocco,” said Danna Ingleton, Deputy Director of Amnesty Tech.
She called for NSO to be banned from selling to governments likely to misuse its tools if it cannot prevent abuses.
NSO responded, stating it was “deeply troubled” by Amnesty’s allegations and would initiate an investigation if warranted.
Citing “state confidentiality concerns,” NSO declined to confirm Morocco as a client or provide details on prior investigations.
Moroccan Authorities and NSO’s Role
Amnesty and Citizen Lab, a University of Toronto research group, have identified Morocco as one of 45 countries using NSO’s spyware, with evidence suggesting government authorization for network injection attacks, which require control over mobile networks or proximity to targets via rogue cell towers. Moroccan authorities did not respond to requests for comment.
Radi told Forbidden Stories, a journalism consortium coordinating the report, “Spying has become an instrument of governance for authorities.”
Broader Implications
The case adds to NSO’s mounting controversies, including a lawsuit by WhatsApp alleging Pegasus targeted 1,400 users in 2019 and reports linking the spyware to surveillance in Saudi Arabia, Mexico, and the UAE.
Aboubakr Jamaï, a Moroccan campaigner previously targeted by NSO’s tools, said that such surveillance exposes Morocco’s authoritarian nature, despite its less overt repression compared to regimes like Syria or Egypt.
Amnesty’s report, shared with Forbidden Stories and published in collaboration with The Guardian, underscores the need for stricter oversight of spyware firms.
As NSO faces legal battles, including Amnesty’s push to revoke its Israeli export license, Radi’s case highlights the chilling effect of surveillance on journalists and activists.
