Moroccan Ex-Minister Sentenced to 3 Years for Defamation and Insulting Officials

"Insults", "defamation", "attack on the honor, feelings, and respect of public officials in the exercise of their duties", on the judiciary, "contempt of court order", "attempt to influence judicial decisions". Mohamed Ziane was prosecuted on 11 counts. Even though he denounced a "political trial", the process did not stop. He was sentenced to three years in prison.

The facts date back to November 2020. The former Minister of Human Rights under Hassan II had accused the security services of having "rigged" a video to present in a compromising way an interview between him and a married client in a hotel room. The former barrister had named Abdelatif Hammouchi as being responsible for the "rigging" of the images.

The Ministry of the Interior responded in January 2021 by filing a complaint for "dissemination of false accusations and allegations, punishable by the Penal Code".