A former member of Morocco’s domestic intelligence service has helped to provide an unprecedented insight into how the north African state used hacking software – including Pegasus spyware – to target journalists, human rights defenders, French politicians and Spanish cabinet ministers and police officers.

Pegasus, which is manufactured by the Israel-based NSO Group, allows its operator to access everything on a target’s mobile phone, including emails, text messages and photographs. It can also activate the phone’s recorder and camera, turning it into a listening device.

The Business and Human Rights Centre sought to contact NSO Group, Q Cyber Technologies, FSSYS Maroc, and Al-Fahad t respond to the allegations. We could not reach them through the publicly available contact information as messages bounced back.