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«Moroccan authorities should unconditionally release and drop charges against a journalist jailed for a 9 months-old tweet criticizing a judge», wrote international NGO Human Rights Watch (HRW), Saturday, referring to Moroccan journalist Omar Radi.
«Criticizing officials is protected speech and no one should face prison time for peacefully doing so», said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch, adding that Omar Radi’s arrest «reeks of political vengeance against his critical journalism and activism».
«Radi’s unjustified detention and trial comes amidst an increasingly suffocating atmosphere for Moroccan journalists, dissidents, and artists who speak out on social media. If you express your dissatisfaction of the government on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter, you risk jail in Morocco. Not great for a country that still postures as a ‘liberal exception’ in the Arab world».
The NGO recalls that in the past two months, Morocco has «has arrested, jailed, or sentenced a rapper, two YouTube commentators, and a student who posted the lyrics of a critical rap song on Facebook. One of the YouTube commentators was sentenced to four years in prison, the student to three years».
Omar Radi, 33, is due to be tried on January 2, 2020 for allegedly insulting a judge. He faces up to one year in prison if convicted, according to article 263 from the Criminal Code.
