The Moroccan National Council for the Press condemned the recent European Parliament (EP) resolution on the situation of journalists in Morocco, saying that “the decision serves agendas of hegemony and a defunct past.”
The EP adopted the resolution on “the situation of journalists in Morocco, particularly the case of Omar Radi” on Thursday, January 19.
Through 356 votes in favor, 32 against and 42 abstentions, the text calls on the Moroccan government to “immediately release” all detained journalists, citing in particular Omar Radi, sentenced on appeal to 6 years in prison, Soulaiman Raissouni (5 years), and Taoufik Bouachrine (15 years).
The council issued a statement today, explaining that “the three journalists were sentenced on charges unrelated to the practice of the profession,” but for crimes pertaining to the Moroccan penal code.
The EP’s decision “reveals ready-made judgments against Morocco,” says the council, as “it considers that everything issued by its judiciary is corrupt and unfair, constantly relying on reports of foreign organizations.”
The National Press Council “expresses its deep astonishment at the methodology with which the decision dealt with the cases of journalists brought before the Moroccan judiciary,” saying the EP “adopted a unilateral and prejudiced point of view, one promoted by foreign organizations, whose credibility is challenged even by European parties.”
In addition, the Council wondered about the circumstance that led to this decision, “in cases decided by the judiciary in 2021 and the beginning of 2022,” noting that Morocco’s circumstances “do not justify any foreign political interference, whether In the areas of freedom of the press or human rights.”
The Press Council was not the only body that spoke up against this recent resolution, with the Moroccan Magistrats club also issuing a statement, condemning the “foreign intrusion into the national judiciary system’s decisions.“
“The club categorically condemns all attempts to influence the Moroccan judiciary, be it internal or external,“ said the club.
Radi’s victim, Hafsa Boutaher wrote on Wednesday, January 18, an open letter “to draw the attention of those interested” in her case “to facts that [she] considers extremely serious, namely the total and deliberate denial that surrounds [her] case as opposed to [her] rapist,” whose case is highly publicized.
“Omar Radi is none other than my rapist, who, abusing his fame and his self-proclaimed position of investigative journalist, allowed himself to sexually assault me. While being a colleague for whom I had respect”, the young woman said.
“It is a brutal shock, a deep wound that I felt when my many supporters let me know that they had learned, through the press, that on January 19, 2023, my rapist would be represented as a victim, and that his conviction would be only an error of justice,” she said.
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