Morocco’s Makhzen Bribed an MEP to Spy on Sahrawi Refugee Camps

Italian newspaper La Repubblica revealed that the Moroccan occupation intelligence services recruited a Member of the European Parliament to send him to the Sahrawi refugee camps in exchange for bribes.

La Repubblica stated that the Italian former socialist deputy, Pier Antonio Panzeri, founder of the non-governmental organization “Fight Impunity”, received money from Morocco through the diplomat Abderrahim Atmoun, the current ambassador to Poland eleven years ago, and Rabat considered the MEP at the time a reliable man.

The newspaper wrote about Panzeri’s visit in 2011 to the Sahrawi camps to promote the image of the Moroccan regime.

“The Moroccan regime encouraged Panzeri’s visit to Tindouf, describing it as necessary to give credibility to the movements of the MEP, especially since he is known for his support for Morocco”, the newspaper added.

Italian La Repubblica published a note from the Moroccan mission to the European Union in Rabat, in which it says that “one of its MEPs held an informal meeting with Panzeri, specifically to prepare for the visit of the European Parliament to Morocco.”

“Panzeri’s name was mentioned in a leaked letter sent by the Moroccan ambassador in Brussels at the time to his country’s government, describing his meeting with Panzeri, shortly before an official visit by members of the European Parliament to Morocco and Western Sahara”, the newspaper’s article read.

The leaked letter stated that “Panzeri gave assurances to the Moroccan regime, and he was aware of the sensitivity of his visit to Tindouf, made a great effort to justify that and not compromise his relations with Morocco.” In addition, the letter confirmed that he “pledged to keep the mission (the embassy) informed of the development of his program in Tindouf.”

“in 2019, after the failure of his re-election, Panzeri, according to the confessions of his former assistant Francesco Giorgi, concluded a secret agreement with the Moroccan Foreign Intelligence Service, through the mediation of the diplomat, Abderrahim Atmoun”, the newspaper added.

Investigations conducted by the Federal Prosecutor in Brussels also uncovered Morocco’s involvement in corruption operations within the European Union, as media reports revealed certain elements of the role of Morocco and its secret services in interfering with the European Parliament.