Moroccan Justice Minister Dismisses Aboukhlal Controversy as ’Nonsense’

During the weekly oral question session at the House of Representatives, the Minister of Justice, Abdelatif Ouahbi, expressed his displeasure following the Zakaria Aboukhlal affair. For the official, it is only a commotion to create a buzz. "We must not pay attention to this nonsense. There are certain parties that aim to harm the image of the national team. This team has honored Morocco and this kind of thing should not affect us and these players are well above the commotion of a newspaper that has no value," said the minister.

Regarding online harassment, insulting or mocking remarks on the internet, Abdelatif Ouahbi stresses that the individuals involved in this type of practice will be severely punished by law, as part of the reform of the Penal Code which will be ready by the end of the month. "It’s shameful what’s happening on the internet even if the Penal Code, particularly Article 447, punishes these acts of defamation," said the Minister of Justice.

"This orientation will push the public prosecutor’s office to apply the Penal Code in this type of situation," warned the minister, recalling a case that has just been dealt with by the Court of Cassation, which ruled that it was the Penal Code that should be applied in these cases.