Morocco: Former minister Ziane sentenced to 5 years in jail
On July 20th, Moroccan opposition figure and former minister Mohamed Ziane was sentenced to five years in prison, according to his lawyer, reports Asharq al-Awsat.
Ziane has already been serving a three-year sentence since November 2022 in the El Arjat Penitentiary in Sale. The Ex-minister was previously arrested on multiple charges including instigating people to violate measures preventing the spread of COVID-19, sexual harassment, contempt of public officials and judiciary power, defamation and adultery.
The previous charges were handed following a complaint made by the Interior Ministry. Zian has denied all charges against him.
The former Rabat bar association president’s latest convictions include “embezzlement and squandering of public funds,” according to his lawyer and son, Ali Reda Ziane.
The funds in question belong to the Moroccan Liberal Party (PML), of which Mohamed Ziane was founder and chief. Ziane is accused of mishandling the party’s finances during the 2015 electoral campaign.
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According to the Spanish news outlet El Independiente, prosecutors have alleged that Ziane misappropriated approximately €100,000.
“This is a form of life sentence for an 81-year-old man while legally nothing has been proven”, said the lawyer, adding that he intended to appeal the ruling against his father.
Ziane, who served as a human rights minister between 1995 and 1996, has become known in recent years for criticising the Moroccan government, particularly the intelligence services. Ziane has stated that he is being judged “because of his opinions.”
The financial chamber of the Rabat appeals court also handed sentences to other PML officials in Ziane’s case. The convicted included the PML treasurer, sentenced to five years, and a party administrative employee who is to spend one year in prison along with a one-year suspended sentence and a 5,000 MAD fine.
Asharq al-Awsat / AFP and agencies
