Moroccan Opposition Leader Urges King to Pardon Jailed Journalists and Activists

During the opening of the PJD National Council on Saturday in Bouznika, Abdelilah Benkirane presented a political report to the members of his party. He notably pleaded for the release of journalists, bloggers and opinion leaders. According to him, the occasion was propitious "to inject a new political and legal dynamic, and find the appropriate formula while recalling the spirit of equity and reconciliation, as well as the royal initiatives granting pardon in cases involving persons convicted following certain social protests, as well as journalists, opinion leaders and bloggers". He will affirm that journalist Taoufik Bouachrine’s place is today at home. "If there is a lesson to be learned, we have all understood it," he added, requesting forgiveness for these categories of detainees. Bouachrine, the former director of the defunct daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum, had been sentenced on appeal to fifteen years in prison for "human trafficking", "abuse of power for sexual purposes", "rape and attempted rape". A conviction confirmed by the Court of Cassation in September 2021.

This new political momentum advocated by the Islamist party should take place "within the framework of national sovereignty, constitutional procedures and institutions, in order to protect the achievements and progress made by our country, to strengthen freedom of expression, the press and the media, as well as the various constitutional rights and freedoms, and to improve the image of our country in the democratic and human rights fields, in accordance with the spirit of the royal letter pronounced on the occasion of International Human Rights Day," stressed the former head of government.

The report also addressed the political and democracy aspects. "The current government management has revealed a regressive trend contrary to the letter and spirit of the 2011 Constitution, manifested in particular by the adoption by the government, thanks to its parliamentary majority, of a law creating a temporary commission to manage the press and publishing sector, instead of an elected body, in flagrant violation of the principles of democracy and independence in the autonomous organization of the press sector, as stipulated in Article 28 of the Constitution," notes the report, also pointing to a decree-law rejected by Parliament.

"The government’s confusion concerning the pharmacy sector, through the adoption of a decree-law rejected by parliament, opposition and majority alike, thus revealing a return to authoritarian and interventionist tendencies detrimental to the independence of professional bodies," the report observes.