Moroccan Human Rights Activist Jailed for Facebook Posts, Sparking Free Speech Concerns

Prosecuted for incitement to discrimination and hatred between people by electronic means, insult to a constitutional institution by the same means and incitement to commit offenses by electronic means, Samira Kacimi was sentenced on Thursday to three months in prison and a fine of 3,000 dirhams. A member of the Sefrou branch of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, she had been arrested in a hair salon where she worked by elements of the territorial gendarmerie. The public prosecutor had ordered her incarceration in the local prison on October 17 and decided to prosecute her while in custody. He had also rejected the request for conditional release due to the existence of legal guarantees of presence.

Samira’s trial opened before the Court of First Instance in Sefrou. Two hearings had been postponed to allow her to prepare her defense and become acquainted with the case file. At the third hearing, lawyers from various associations assisted Samira. They pleaded for hours after hearing the accused. She did not deny having written the publications in question. However, she explained the context of each publication and denied the charges against her.