Economist and human rights defender Fouad Abdelmoumni was arrested and taken into police custody on Wednesday in Casablanca for allegedly having “spread false information” in several social media posts in which he criticized “Morocco’s involvement in spying on France,” according to local media.
The 66-year-old was arrested on charges of having “reported a notoriously fictitious crime that he knows does not exist” and having “disseminated numerous false pieces of information,” Morocco’s News Agency (MAP) reported.
The charges relate to social media posts in which he accused Morocco of spying on France using the Israeli Pegasus spyware in 2021.
However, on September 20 of this year, Morocco denied ever having been a client of NSO, the company behind the Pegasus spyware, and stated that accusations that “Rabat is a client of NSO,” are “unjust and fanciful.”
According to Barlamane’s sources, the public prosecutor at the correctional court in Casablanca ordered a judicial investigation into Abdelmoumni’s “suspected criminal actions ” on Thursday.
The prosecutor’s office will oversee all aspects of the investigation conducted by the National Judicial Police and will take appropriate legal action based on the investigation’s findings once it concludes.
In the meantime, Abdelmoumni remains in pretrial detention.
Abdelmoumni’s accusations came at a rather inopportune time for Morocco as a new leaf is being turned on relations between Morocco and France following France’s President Macron’s recognition of Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara in July.
Abdelmoumni’s arrest coincided with the last day of Macron’s special state visit this week.