Moroccan Journalist Sentenced to 5 Years for Sexual Assault, Press Freedom Groups Demand Release

On Friday, the judge had ordered the presence of the journalist, absent from his trial since mid-June, so that he could hear his conviction, but the defendant "refused", according to a report read during the hearing at the Casablanca Court of Appeal.

Soulaimane Raissouni has been held in pre-trial detention since May 2020 for "sexual assault" on an LGBT activist. The accused has consistently proclaimed his innocence since the beginning of this case. His relatives denounce a "political trial" and describe the 49-year-old journalist’s state of health as "critical", as he has gone on a hunger strike to protest against a "great injustice".

He was recently hospitalized after having a crisis. His condition did not go unnoticed on June 10, when he was walking unsteadily in front of the court. In Morocco and abroad, human rights defenders, intellectuals and political leaders continue to demand his provisional release.

For his part, the plaintiff is pleased with the outcome of the trial despite the appeals from various quarters. "Justice has triumphed. All the dirty tricks to politicize the case will be in vain," he reacted on Facebook, stating that he intended to "donate the amount of the damages to a charity".

Concerned about the journalist’s health, Reporters Without Borders is calling for his release pending an appeal trial. "We urgently call for Soulaimane Raissouni to be released pending an appeal trial. After such a long hunger strike, his survival is at stake. He deserves a fair trial," RSF pleaded in a statement on Saturday.

At the end of a "trial tainted with manifest irregularities", the journalist’s support committee, composed of activists from various local human rights defense associations, "firmly condemned an unjust verdict [...] as severe as it is incomprehensible". In its statement, the committee denounces the fact that the court "did not present any evidence to the defense and did not hear any witnesses". "The police prevented a sit-in that a group of about twenty members of the committee were trying to organize on Saturday in Rabat to protest against his conviction and demand his release." The journalist’s lawyer describes what happened as a "judicial butchery".

While they have remained silent since the beginning of this case, the Moroccan authorities, faced with the criticism, say they are giving full power to the independence of justice and the conformity of the procedures. Regarding his hunger strike, the prison administration (DGAPR) has stated that the journalist is using it as a means of pressure on the court.