The survey in France on the use of Pegasus spyware, which had targeted French journalists in particular on behalf of the Moroccan State, is entrusted this Friday by the Paris prosecutor’s office to an examining magistrate. A judicial investigation against X is openrelating to a large number of potential offences, including the invasion of privacy or the fraudulent use of “automated data processing systems”, some of which are “implemented by the State”.
The Paris prosecutor’s office had opened an investigation in July 2021 into the spying of French journalists, including the infiltration of telephones by the Pegasus software, on behalf of the Moroccan state.following an investigation published by a consortium of 17 international media, including the investigation unit of Radio France.
The investigation also targets the offenses of “conspiracy, _interception of correspondence sent electronically_installation of devices likely to allow such interception, possession and dissemination of words or images infringing privacy, offer, transfer or making available and possession, offer or sale of equipment designed to allow an invasion of an automated data processing system”.
The investigation had revealed that the numbers of phones of at least 180 journalists, 600 politicians, 85 human rights activists and even 65 business leaders from different countries, have been spied on.
Emmanuel Macron’s cell phone in the list of targets
Among the political leaders targeted, the French head of state. A number of Emmanuel Macron who, even if he had “leaked” between the two rounds of the 2017 presidential election with the “Macronleaks”, continued to be used by the President of the Republic once at the Élysée, was entered in March 2019 by an intelligence agency in Morocco, a client of NSO and a user of Pegasus software. The Moroccan kingdom had formally denied “these false allegations” and launched several defamation proceedings in France against several media, the Forbidden Stories consortium and Amnesty International.
The investigation entrusted to an investigating judge on Friday is “the ultimate hope of finding the truth and punishing the guilty”, believes the secretary general of Reporters Without Borders, Christophe Deloire. Master Joseph Breham, lawyer for other plaintiffs including the SNJ CGT union, the daily newspaper l’Humanité, elected officials and journalists, “rejoiced” only “independent magistrates” be seized of the file.