Moroccan Journalist Ends 118-Day Hunger Strike, Seeks Urgent Medical Care

Concerned about his health, more than 350 Moroccan and foreign personalities have called on him to end his hunger strike. An appeal that has been favorably received by the editorialist, according to his lawyer. "He agrees to suspend his hunger strike but his health is so serious that he needs to be hospitalized," said his lawyer Me Miloud Kandil.

However, on Monday evening, the prison administration (DGAPR) had assured in a press release that the journalist "has refused to go to the hospital since June 30, 2021 and has also refused to have his vital signs checked."

Aged 49, Soulaimane Raissouni was arrested in May 2020 for "sexual assault" after a complaint filed by an LGBT activist. From his arrest until his conviction in July, the journalist has always denied the facts and denounced a case fabricated from scratch.

To demand his release and protest against a "great injustice", he stopped eating. "This weekend, the journalist’s health deteriorated after a fainting spell. He had lost consciousness, he was in a hideous situation. I saw him on Monday, I had the impression of talking to a corpse," his lawyer emphasizes.

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After his conviction, several NGOs including the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called for his "immediate" release.