A Moroccan activist, Rabie Al Ablaq, was sentenced to four years in prison on Monday April 25 for attacking King Mohammed VI. had “offended” on social media, as we learned from his defense.
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“The trial court of Al-Hoceima (North) has sentenced Rabie Al Ablaq to four years in prison for electronic insults to the person of the king,” his lawyer Abdelmajid Azaryah told AFP.
Criticism of “social inequalities” and corruption
The 35-year-old citizen activist and journalist also has to pay a fine of 20,000 dirhams (1,900 euros). His lawyer has announced that he will appeal. Rabie Al Ablaq appeared free in Al Hoceima Court, where his trial began on April 11. The accused was prosecuted, according to his lawyer, for “publishing videos criticizing social inequalities and corruption”. “I was shocked by this verdict because he (Rabie Al Ablaq) was just voicing his opinion.
“Punishing peaceful criticism of those in power is a clear violation of the right to free speech”
Human Rights Watch
I don’t think he harmed the (royal) institution.” According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the charges stem from two videos posted to Facebook and YouTube in September and November, in which Rabie Al Ablaq “speaks the king in a familiar tone, emphasizing the contrast between his personal wealth and the widespread poverty in Morocco”.
“Punishing peaceful criticism of those in power is a clear violation of the right to freedom of expression,” the human rights NGO said in a recent statement, calling for the charges against the activist to be dropped. In 2018, Rabie Al Ablaq was jailed for his participation in the protest movement that rocked the Moroccan Rif (North) region in 2016-2017 and then sentenced to five years in prison before being pardoned by the king in 2020.
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Another Moroccan human rights activist, Saïda El Alami, 48, who regularly posted anti-government posts on social media, was arrested on March 23 and faces criminal charges for “insulting officials in ‘doing their duty’, ‘undermining justice’. and “Dissemination of False Claims”. The verdict is expected on Friday.