France urged to save free speech in Morocco

France has been urged to pressure Morocco into releasing citizens detained for free speech following another “outrageous” jailing of a prominent activist.

Fouad Abdelmoumni, a member of Human Rights Watch (HRW), was sentenced on 3 March for criticising relations between Rabat and Paris, according to Democracy for the Arab World Now  (DAWN).

The verdict has sparked fierce criticism from activist groups, with HRW and DAWN calling for intervention from France’s president Emmanuel Macron.

Balkees Jarrah, Middle East and North Africa director at HRW, said: “Macron should press the King of Morocco, his ally, to end these repressive tactics and release all those detained for peaceful speech.”

“Dragging yet another Moroccan activist into court and sentencing him to prison merely for expressing an opinion about relations between Morocco and another country shows just how outrageous this crackdown on free speech is.”

Abdelmoumni faces six months in prison and a fine of 2000 dirhams ($208) after being sentenced in absentia.

He was arrested in October last year and charged with “insulting public authorities, spreading false allegations, and reporting a fictitious crime he knew did not occur.”

The allegations stemmed from a Facebook post in which he criticised French-Moroccan relations and accused Rabat of using the Israeli spyware Pegasus to target dissident voices.

Indeed, Abdelmoumni allegedly knew as far back as 2019 that his phone was infected with the spyware, with later investigations by Amnesty International and Forbidden Stories finding Moroccan authorities were behind several other hackings.

In 2020, he and a few dozen of his colleagues, family and friends were sent videos of him and his partner in sexual situations from an anonymous WhatsApp account.

These were taken before they were married, thus making them liable for up to one year in prison under Moroccan law.

After keeping a low profile, he began again to criticise the government later that year, and seemingly in response Moroccan web TV company ‘Chouf TV’ published the name of his partner.

The publicising of pre-marital relationships in Morocco is particularly shameful for women and can expose them to irreversible stigma.

Now facing prison, Abdelmoumni joins a long list of dissidents who have been attacked by the state over their rhetoric.

Ismail Lghazaoui, an activist who called for a boycott of US arms transferred to Israel through Moroccan ports, was sentenced to one year in December, though it has been reduced since.

The head of the Moroccan website ‘Badil’, Hamid Elmahdaoui, was put behind bars for 18 months in November 2024 on charges of “broadcasting and distributing false allegations and facts in order to defame people, slander, and public insult.”

DAWN advocates for the Moroccan government to repeal laws which criminalise speech, including those which purportedly outlaw insults to public officials and state institutions.

They argue these proscriptions are in direct conflict with Morocco’s constitution which guarantees freedom of expression and a right to privacy.

Jarrah said: “The Moroccan monarchy’s effort to present itself as progressive stands in stark contrast to the country’s repressive security forces.”

“The only way to align these outlooks is to end repression of critics and ensure people can express their peaceful views.”

Democracy for the Arab World Now