Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson: No new date or venue has been set for the meeting between Araghchi and Witkoff, and no negotiations will take place until the outcome is guaranteed
Palestinian platforms: Settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque complex under the protection of the occupation police
Palestinian platforms: The IOF detonated a booby-trapped robot east of the al-Zaytoun neighborhood, south of Gaza City
Syrian Defense: We call on all parties in Sweida to cooperate with security forces and exercise restraint
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted

Spain court hears Morocco's case over journalist Pegasus spyware claim

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 13 Jan 2023 18:27
3 Min Read

Amnesty International and French NGO Forbidden Stories first confirmed that Cembrero's number was on the list.

  • x
  • Ignacio Cembrero (ESFERA LIBROS)
    Ignacio Cembrero (ESFERA LIBROS)

Morocco demanded Friday that a Madrid court rule the Kingdom had nothing to do with the possible installation of Israeli Pegasus spyware on the phone of a Spanish reporter who blamed Rabat.

Its request came as the court heard Rabat's case against Ignacio Cembrero, an expert on Spain-Morocco ties who writes for the news website El Confidencial.

"It is not possible to confirm that the Kingdom of Morocco has any responsibility whatsoever" in this spyware affair, Sergio Berenguer, one of Rabat's lawyers told the court as quoted by AFP.

Cermbrero refused to back down when asked whether he wanted to retract his accusation of Morocco being behind the tapping of his phone with the spyware.

"I confirm everything that I've said," he told the court, which will issue its decision in the coming weeks. 

The conflict dates back to July 2021, when a combined investigation by multiple Western media sources discovered that over 50,000 people worldwide, including activists, journalists, businesspeople, and politicians, had been spied on using spyware manufactured by Israeli corporation NSO.

The spyware infiltrates mobile phones in order to harvest data or activate a camera or microphone in order to spy on their owners.

The phone numbers of at least 180 journalists from 20 countries who had been identified as targets for surveillance by NSO clients were included on the list.

Morocco was singled out as one of the countries that purchased the program and whose security services deployed the spyware against journalists, something Rabat denies.

The list was first leaked to Amnesty International and French NGO Forbidden Stories, who confirmed Cembrero's number was on the list. 

Cembrero became concerned that his phone was being monitored shortly before the probe when private Whatsapp messages he had exchanged with Spanish officials were released by a news source sympathetic to Moroccan authorities.

Cembrero has consistently stated in many writings, interviews, and even before the European Parliament that Morocco was behind the bugging.

Rabat responded fast to file a lawsuit, requesting that he drop his allegations and pay Morocco's legal fees.

Morocco has already taken similar actions in France in response to allegations that it used Pegasus software to spy on politicians, including President Emmanuel Macron, and journalists.

The French courts ruled the lawsuits inadmissible. 

In Spain, kingdom attorneys have turned to an old legal clause dating back to the Middle Ages to accuse Cembrero of "an act of bragging" – in this case, boasting about something without proof.

"I've reached the conclusion.. that only a foreign power, in this case, Morocco, could have hacked my phone," Cembrero told the court, stressing that he had been subjected to "harassment" by Rabat.

He stated that this was the Kingdom's fourth lawsuit against him since 2014.

It is worth noting that the Israeli-led spyware industry has been embroiled in a seemingly never-ending spate of extremely prominent controversies. Revelations that it sells its spyware to authoritarian regimes, that its products have been used to spy on journalists, activists, politicians, and even potentially world leaders, and accusations that it played a role in murdered journalist Jamal Khashoggi's death have put it at the center of international criticism.

  • Spain court
  • Israeli spyware
  • Morocco
  • Ignacio Cembrero
  • Pegasus

Most Read

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS