In connection with the Pegasus scandal, the Kingdom of Morocco’s defamation lawsuit against Mediapart and its founder, Edwy Plenel, has been definitively dismissed. The court also ordered Morocco to pay court costs, as reported by Mediapart.
“To divert attention from the Pegasus affair, in which it is implicated, the Kingdom of Morocco filed a defamation complaint against Mediapart and its then-editor, Edwy Plenel. It accused the online publication of asserting that it had spied on them. This maneuver has failed: The Court of Cassation has definitively dismissed the case and ordered Morocco to pay us €2,500,” stated Mediapart.
France’s highest judicial authority upheld the Paris Court of Appeal’s decision from April 12, 2023, as well as the ruling from the 17th Chamber of Criminal Court on March 25, 2022. The latter declared the complaint inadmissible on the grounds that it breached one of the fundamental principles of press law in France, which prohibits a state from pursuing defamation claims.
“The foreign state is inadmissible in public defamation actions against an individual, whether in its name or on behalf of its public administrations lacking legal personality,” the Court of Cassation reiterated in its ruling on September 10, 2024.
“Under both domestic law and the European Convention on Human Rights, freedom of expression is a fundamental liberty that protects other rights and freedoms. Any restrictions imposed on its exercise must be necessary, appropriate, and proportionate to the intended objective,” emphasized the criminal court.
Furthermore, it noted, “The Moroccan kingdom is reportedly considering an appeal to the European Court of Human Rights, which may seem ironic for a country ranked 129th in the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) press freedom index.”
This lawsuit, which infringed upon press freedom, aimed not only to silence Mediapart but also to intimidate the entire profession, as several other publications have faced similar legal actions, the source added.
“By taking us to court, the Kingdom of Morocco sought to shift focus from what the Pegasus affair revealed: in a July 19, 2021 article, Mediapart informed its readers that the phone numbers of Lénaïg Bredoux (now co-editor) and Edwy Plenel were among the ten thousand numbers targeted by Moroccan intelligence services between 2019 and 2020 using spyware provided by the Israeli company NSO.”
“For several months, the repressive apparatus of the Cherifian kingdom violated the privacy of two journalists, undermined the integrity of journalism and press freedom, and misappropriated personal and professional data,” Mediapart stated, announcing its intention to seek justice.
In this international espionage scandal, revealed on July 18, 2021, by Forbidden Stories, Amnesty International, and sixteen media organizations, the Kingdom of Morocco was significantly involved. It has been accused of using NSO’s spyware without oversight to gather intelligence on civil society members, including journalists, opposition figures, activists, and at times, diplomats, judges, lawyers, and prominent politicians.
