Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni was sentenced Friday night to five years in prison by a court in Casablanca. He was charged in a case of indecent assault with force and forced delivery, accusations that he has always denied. Its support committee condemns a political trial aimed at comments from the journalist, who is critical of the regime. In protest, he went on a hunger strike that has now lasted for 95 days.
Before the verdict on Friday night, the editor of the daily newspaper Akhbar Al Youm had been in prison for more than a year. Arrested on 22 May 2020 following a complaint of indecent assault and forced delivery of an LGBT activist, SoulaimaneRaissouni and his followers have never ceased to demand his provisional release, without success.
The journalist has been on hunger strike for more than three months to protest his conditions of detention. His lawyers regularly sound the alarm about his state of health.
After leaving court, Soulaimane Raissouni’s wife, Hajar, also promised a journalist to continue the legal battle so that “Soulaimane remains alive”.
Many NGOs, including Borderless Journalists, support Soulaimane Raissouni, arguing that the allegations against him were merely a pretext to hamper his writing, often critical of the Moroccan royal regime. His convictions do not bode well for the other journalists currently being prosecuted in Morocco, especially Omar Radi, even on hunger strike.
1/2 We have just learned that an evening of five years was imprisoned on Souleiman Raissouni, former editor-in-chief of the now defunct newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum. This decision comes at the end of a trial that is damaged by obvious irregularities. #Marocco pic.twitter.com/IJesdzmIli
– Christophe Deloire (@cdeloire) July 9, 2021
.
