Moroccan Man Arrested for Social Media Posts Criticizing Islam and Monarchy

The arrest of the young man took place last week in the town of Oued-Zem. He is accused of having made publications attacking the Islamic religion and the symbols of the kingdom with content falsifying history, reports the daily Assabah. After his arrest, he was placed in custody at the disposal of the investigation conducted under the supervision of the public prosecutor near the court of first instance of Oued-Zem.

Now prosecuted while in detention, the accused will be tried before the court of first instance of Oued-Zem. He risks the same fate as the 23-year-old Italian-Moroccan who had been indicted at the end of June 2021 on the charge of "attacking Islam". She had been sentenced to 3 and a half years in prison and a fine of 5,000 euros.

In Morocco, Islam is the state religion. Arrests related to religion are common and several articles - including Article 267 - of the Penal Code condemn failures or offenses against the Islamic religion. This article punishes with six months to two years in prison "anyone who attacks the Islamic religion". The sentence is increased to five years if the offense is committed in public "including by electronic means".