Moroccan Activist Sentenced to Two Years for Anti-Israel Facebook Posts

Judgment and sentence confirmed for Redouane Kastit. On Thursday, the criminal chamber of the Tangier Court of Appeal upheld the two-year prison sentence and a fine of 10,000 dirhams pronounced against him in the first instance for publications on social networks, particularly Facebook, deemed offensive. The upholding of the conviction provoked anger among the defendant’s friends, political activists, human rights defenders, and prominent figures of Al-Adl Wal-Ihsane. They organized and actively participated in a sit-in and demonstrations in front of the court. During these demonstrations, they chanted slogans and held up placards, describing the trial as political. They also denounced targeted repression against voices critical of the rapprochement with Israel.

Kastit had been arrested on February 5 in Tangier, transferred to the headquarters of the National Judicial Police Brigade in Casablanca, then presented before the King’s prosecutor at the Tangier Court of First Instance on Saturday, February 8, 2025. The prosecutor decided to prosecute him in detention. He was accused of writing that the knife attack - which injured five people in Tel Aviv in late January - "will lead to a blessed racist campaign" against Israelis of Moroccan origin and of publishing a photo of the assailant - a young Moroccan residing in the United States, Abdelaziz Qadiun - with the caption "Moroccanness" and the comment "happiness to him," according to his lawyer.

Prosecuted for "insulting public officials in the exercise of their duties" and "insulting a constituted body," in connection with these Facebook posts critical of institutions and the normalization policy, he had been sentenced in the first instance on March 9.