Debate on individual freedom reopened in Morocco
The case of journalist Hajar Raissouni reopened the debate on individual freedoms in Morocco, and revived calls to annul the law chapters that criminalize them.
RABAT, Morocco — Morocco's King Mohammed VI pardoned Hajar Raissouni, a journalist convicted on charges of having an abortion and nonmarital sex, on Oct. 16. Raissouni denied the charges against her and considered them to be “false accusations.” She affirmed that there was no abortion and never met the doctor who accused her.
Commenting on the second charge, Raissouni’s lawyer Saad Sahli said, “She got married by reciting the Fatiha, while waiting for the completion of the marriage legal process.” He added that the formalization procedures were delayed given that her fiance Rifaat al-Amin, a human rights activist, is Sudanese.
On Sept. 30, the Court of Appeal of Rabat sentenced Raissouni and her fiance to a year in prison and issued other sentences against the gynecologist who was convicted of performing the abortion, the anesthetist and assistant of the gynecologist.
Those advocating for Raissouni perceive that the charges against her seek to take revenge on her because of the articles she wrote for Akhbar al-Youm newspaper, in which she shed light on the protest movement in the Rif region and other corruption dossiers.
