Spain Court Dismisses Morocco Case Against Journalist

A general view during a partial lockdown amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, October 3, 2020. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho
A general view during a partial lockdown amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, October 3, 2020. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho
TT
20

Spain Court Dismisses Morocco Case Against Journalist

A general view during a partial lockdown amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, October 3, 2020. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho
A general view during a partial lockdown amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Madrid, Spain, October 3, 2020. REUTERS/Javier Barbancho

A Madrid court has dismissed a case brought by Morocco against a Spanish journalist who had accused Rabat of bugging his phone with Pegasus spyware.

The ruling, seen by AFP on Thursday, acquitted 68-year-old Ignacio Cembrero, dismissing Rabat's claim he had engaged in "an act of bragging" about being the victim of phone bugging.

A spokesperson for the law firm representing Rabat told AFP Morocco would appeal the ruling.

The lawsuit had its roots in an explosive 2021 investigation by Forbidden Stories, a consortium of 17 Western media outlets, which found that more than 50,000 people -- including activists, journalists, executives and politicians -- might have been spied on using software developed by Israeli firm NSO.

Since then, Cembrero has repeatedly stated, and even told the European Parliament, that Morocco was behind the bugging, while admitting he had no formal proof.

But Rabat has denied that it had bought the software.

In her ruling, dated March 10, judge Sonia Lence Munoz said, "The various statements by the defendant... were in response to the publication of a journalistic investigation by an international group -- Forbidden Stories -- about people who were spied on with Pegasus software."

Such remarks were "justified by the gravity of the facts which led not only to a criminal investigation.”



Israeli Gunfire Hits Perimeter of UN Peacekeeping Post in Lebanon, UNIFIL Says

A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
TT
20

Israeli Gunfire Hits Perimeter of UN Peacekeeping Post in Lebanon, UNIFIL Says

A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)
A post for UN peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is pictured near the border with Israel, southern Lebanon, April 6, 2023. (Reuters)

The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said on Wednesday that direct fire from the Israeli army had hit the perimeter of one of its peacekeeping positions in south Lebanon.

In a statement, UNIFIL said the incident on Tuesday was the first of its kind since Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah agreed to a ceasefire last November.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli army on the incident, in which UNIFIL said one of its bases in the village of Kfar Shouba in southern Lebanon was hit.

"In recent days, UNIFIL has also observed other aggressive behavior by the Israeli military towards peacekeepers performing operational activities in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1701," it said, referring to a UN resolution originally adopted in 2006 to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah.

Tuesday's incident occurred near the Blue Line, a UN-mapped demarcation separating Lebanon from Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

Any unauthorized crossing of the Blue Line by land or by air from any side constitutes a violation of Security Council Resolution 1701.

UNIFIL cited other alleged incidents it blamed on the Israeli army, including being targeted by lasers while it was performing a patrol with the Lebanese army in the southern border town of Maroun al-Ras on Tuesday.

Israel has continued to occasionally strike areas in south Lebanon, saying that it was targeting Hezbollah infrastructure. It has also struck the Hezbollah-controlled southern suburbs of Beirut several times.

The ceasefire terms require that neither Hezbollah nor any other armed group have weapons in areas near the border south of the Litani River, which flows into the Mediterranean some 20 km (12 miles) north of the Israeli border.

They require Israel to withdraw troops from the south and that the Lebanese army deploy into the border region.

Lebanon and Israel have accused each other of failing to fully implement the deal. Israel still occupies five hilltop positions in the south. Rockets have been fired from Lebanon towards Israel twice, though Hezbollah denied any role.

Israel killed thousands of Hezbollah fighters in the war, destroyed much of its arsenal and eliminated its top leaders, including Hassan Nasrallah.

The war spiraled after Hezbollah opened fire at the beginning of the Gaza war, declaring solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas.