Morocco’s Foreign Minister to the Swiss Newspaper Tribune de Geneve: “Amnesty International Failed Its Duty of Neutrality and Objectivity"
Amnesty International latest report, published on June 22, 2020, provoked an extended exchange between Moroccan officials and the organisation's representatives.
- (1888PressRelease) July 22, 2020 - Berlin, Germany. - Following Amnesty International’s allegations against the Kingdom of Morocco, the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs calls the allegations unfounded and criticized the organization for “having failed in its duty of neutrality and objectivity.”Interviewed by the Swiss newspaper Tribune de Geneve, Bourita said that AI’s report is “far from being in a dynamic dialogue.” In a war against an Israeli software company, Amnesty International accuses Moroccan security services of spying on journalist Omar Radi for over a year by infecting his phone with the Israeli spyware.
On Monday, July 13, an Israeli court decided to dismiss Amnesty International’s complaint against NSO. It justified the decision by AI’s failure to prove that its Pegasus spying software “was used to spy on Amnesty activists.” “This is another case in which AI speaks without evidence,” the Moroccan Minister said, adding that similar cases “raise serious doubts about their methodology” and that “Morocco will not give in to this blackmail.” Commenting on the allegations contained in the report, the foreign minister pointed out that AI’s chooses to deny ‘more than two decades of achievements in human rights in Morocco, recognized by the international community.” The report places Morocco “in the same category as countries that have committed atrocities against their own people,” he deplored.
Minister Bourita criticized the report’s claims that only countries can hack into phones through mobile operators. According to him, there are “devices that mimic network signals and hack into mobile phones and are sold online.” Bourita also condemned “the tone used in [AI’s] publications and tweets,” adding that “we do not think that ‘name and shame’ is the best way to get things done.” “What we were looking for was a detailed report substantiating the allegations of espionage. We have requested access to the chain of custody of the phone in question, including software and hardware, so that the competent Moroccan authorities can properly conduct their counter-investigation, because a lot of work is needed to understand how the hacking was carried out,” Bourita explained. He also emphasized, during this interview, that the Moroccan government needs to have access and information about Amnesty International’s sources, to find out if “someone is wiretapping” Moroccan citizens. The government has has yet to hear back from Amnesty International.
Bourita explained to the Journalist of Tribune de Geneve that Morocco believes in freedom of expression. Yet, Amnesty international published seven reports on Morocco in 2020 and a total of 72 reports that have been very critical of the Kingdom, without even consulting with the Moroccan authorities. The organization, the minister says, carries”out a media campaigns against Morocco on the basis of unfounded accusations, misleading, therefore, several media and journalists,”. “We do not expect to be spared, even less flattered, but the reforms undertaken by Morocco in the field of human rights have been marked with courage and openness,” Bourita told the Swiss newspaper concluding that Morocco’s human rights’ trajectory is “not perfect,” but the progress is still tangible and matches the expectations of the Moroccan people.“Such accusations affect both the national security of a country and the individual freedoms of its citizens. The double dimension requires a lot of caution and nuance. We criticize Amnesty International for having failed in its duty of neutrality and objectivity and for lack of professionalism,”.
Friends of Morocco (FOM), active since 1988, is an organisation of Americans and Europeans, mostly returned volunteers, with experience in Morocco with an interest in promoting political, educational, cultural, charitable, social, literary and scientific exchanges between Morocco and the rest of the world. FOM is a non profit organisation with the headquarter is in the USA and chapters around the world. The main objective of Friends of Morocco is to promote Morocco and to build bridges and connect people who have fallen in Love with this country, adopted its culture and made it their 2nd home. Friends of Morocco is a nonprofit organization with branches around the world.
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Friends of Morocco
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015213454385
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