Morocco jails ex-minister, journalist critical of government for 'sexual harassment' but they say the charges are trumped up

Morocco’s former human rights minister Mohammed Ziane and Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni, both known of being critical of the government, were sentenced in two separate cases Wednesday for charges that include sexual assault. The two men have denied the charges and claimed the accusations are politically motivated.

The 79-year-old lawyer Mohammed Ziane, who served as minister of human rights under the late King Hassan II, was sentenced to three years in prison and fined a total of MAD 105,000 (≈10,500$).

The court prosecuted Ziyan for 11 charges including "sexual assault", "contempt of court", "defamation," and "insulting and attacking the authorities and public officials".

Ziane, who denied all the charges, accused the state of targeting him after defending Moroccan journalist Taoufiq Bouachrine in 2018. 

In 2019, Bouachrine, the owner of the opposition-leaning newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, was sentenced to 15 years in jail for human trafficking and sexually assaulting eight female journalists. The international non-profit organisation Reporters Without Borders (RSF)at the time said the case was politically motivated.

The veteran lawyer also accused the Director-General of National Security and Internal Intelligence, Abdellatif Hammouchi, of standing behind a ‘fabricated video’ that pictured Ziane in intimate scenes with one of his clients. 

Just a few hours after pronouncing the court's decision against Ziane, the Casablanca Court of Appeal confirmed the 5-year prison sentence against journalist Soulaimane Raissouni. 

Charged with “sexual assault”, Raissouni was also sentenced to a fine of MAD 100,000 (≈10,000$).

The 49-year-old columnist, known for his critical tone against Moroccan authorities, was accused of ‘sexual assault’ by a young LGBTQ+ activist in 2020 - a charge he always denied in court, saying that he is being prosecuted ‘because of his opinions.’ 

Raissouni’s lawyer Miloud Kandil told reporters outside the Casablanca Court of Appeal that the court’s decision ‘proves that they want revenge on Raissouni.’

“We are very disappointed, we expected him to be cleared in view of all the flaws exposed throughout the trial,” added Kandil.

However, the victim's lawyer defended the sentencing in remarks to local media.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has pleaded for the journalist to be released and called for a fair trial.

Arrested in May 2020, the journalist had not attended most of his trial – between February and July 2021 – due to a 122-day hunger strike.

Omar Radi, another Moroccan journalist whose appeal trial is ongoing, was sentenced to 6 years in prison for sexual assaults and ‘espionage' - charges that he denies.

Last year, Forbidden stories said that Radi, Raissouni, and other Moroccan journalists were targeted for surveillance using the Israeli Pegasus spyware. Moroccan authorities denied using the spyware and sued Amnesty and Forbidden stories for 'defamation.'