Moroccan Lawyers Seek Turkish Probe of Yemeni Activist for Alleged Incitement

The Moroccan Lawyers’ Club is angry with Tawakkol Karman. In a post on X, its president Mourad Elajouti announced on Monday that the association has filed a criminal complaint with the Turkish prosecutor’s office against the Yemeni activist, accusing her of incitement to hatred and terrorism, following remarks made on social media that are considered to encourage acts of violence on Moroccan territory. "The complaint was filed through diplomatic channels with the Turkish public prosecutor’s office against Tawakkol Karman," he said.

This complaint is based "on Articles 125, 216, 312, 314, 220/6-7 and 340 of the Turkish Penal Code, as well as Law No. 3713 on the Fight against Terrorism," specifies the Moroccan Lawyers’ Club, believing that "the incriminated publications contain seriously insulting remarks and explicit calls for violence and ’revolution’ against the Kingdom of Morocco," or even "incitements to hatred and terrorism." For Elajouti, freedom of expression cannot, in any case, justify the glorification of violence or the call for rebellion.

"Turkish law firmly represses these excesses, particularly under Articles 216 and 312 of the Penal Code," he further recalls, stressing that "public insults against a foreign head of state are aggravated by Article 340 of the Turkish Penal Code, due to their diplomatic scope," and that "mutual respect between nations remains a pillar of international law." Hailing "the rigor of the Turkish judicial tradition, already illustrated by several recent jurisprudences repressing terrorist propaganda on social networks," the Moroccan club is asking the Turkish prosecutor’s office "to open an investigation, summon Ms. Karman and, if necessary, arrest her upon her entry into Turkish territory, in order to take all necessary measures in accordance with the law."