Rabat, Morocco — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on Monday pardoned three journalists accused of sexual crimes and espionage in trials widely condemned by press freedom advocates as retaliation for their critical reporting.
Omar Radi, Taoufik Bouachrine and Soulaimane Raissouni are among the 2,278 people who received pardons this week, according to Morocco’s Ministry of Justice. The pardons were announced as Morocco celebrated Throne Day, which marks the anniversary of Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne.
For more than four years, the journalists have been emblematic of Morocco’s aggressive efforts to quell criticism from the media and human rights activists. Civil liberties advocates, the European Parliament and the US State Department have at various times condemned their prosecutions as politically motivated.
The three Moroccan journalists were known for their critical reporting and commentary on the kingdom’s government and its policies.
Bouachrine, an outspoken opinion columnist and former editor of the independent newspaper Akhbar al-Youm, was sentenced to 12 years behind bars in 2018 after being found guilty of human trafficking, sexual assault and rape.
Raissouni, also a former editor of Akhbar al-Youm, was sentenced to five years on charges including sexual assault in 2021.
Radi, an investigative journalist and activist, was sentenced to six years in 2021 on espionage and sexual assault charges.
Organizations such as Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and Reporters Without Borders harshly condemned the prosecutions as politically motivated.
“Sex crime charges have become another tool for authorities to punish journalists,” the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Middle East and North Africa program wrote in 2021.
The cases were among those that came to light when Amnesty International and the Paris-based journalism consortium Forbidden Stories published leaked documents suggesting the three journalists were among those spied on by Moroccan officials using malware installed on their smartphones. . Authorities flatly denied doing so.
The journalists’ supporters applauded their release, but stressed that they believed the journalists were imprisoned after unfair trials.
“Congratulations. Waiting for others… and for democracy,” human rights activist Fouad Abdelmoumni wrote on Facebook.
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