Morocco activist gets six-month sentence for online post: lawyer
RABAT: A Moroccan court on Monday sentenced activist Fouad Abdelmoumni to six months in prison for 'spreading false allegations' and other charges related to a post he had shared on Facebook, said his lawyer.
Abdelmoumni, a human rights advocate, was taken into custody in late October after alleging online that Morocco had spied against France, but released after a two-day detention.
His lawyer, Mohamed Nouini, told AFP that Abdelmoumni will only be imprisoned if a higher court upholds Monday's verdict issued in Casablanca.
'He should have been prosecuted under the Press Code, which does not provide for prison sentences, rather than the Penal Code,' Nouini said.
The charges against Abdelmoumni include 'spreading false allegations,' 'defamation' and 'insulting public bodies.'
In his Facebook post last year, Abdelmoumni echoed accusations of Moroccan espionage against France.
'France, which sees its position decline among all nations, would not want to give in to the blackmail of a weak state which uses all the means of pressure at its disposal... including espionage,' Abdelmoumni wrote at the time.
Prosecutors argued that his statements constituted 'allegations harmful to the kingdom's interests' and went 'beyond the limits of freedom of expression, amounting to criminal offenses punishable by law.'
Abdelmoumni shared the post during a visit by French President Emmanuel Macron, which had marked a thawing of diplomatic ties between Rabat and Paris after three years of strained relations, partially over the espionage allegations.
In 2021, Morocco was accused of deploying Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to monitor prominent figures including Macron.
The allegations were based on a report by investigative outlet Forbidden Stories and rights group Amnesty International, which Morocco called 'baseless and false.'
The spyware, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, can infiltrate mobile phones, extracting data and activating cameras.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Saudi Gazette
8 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Israel's defense minister vows to prevent aid boat carrying Greta Thunberg reaching Gaza
JERUSALEM — Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Sunday that Israel wouldn't allow anyone to break its naval blockade of the Palestinian territory, which he said was aimed at preventing Hamas from importing arms. In a post on X Katz announced that he has instructed the Israeli Defense Force "to act to prevent the Madleen hate flotilla" from reaching the strip's coast: "You should turn back -- because you will not reach Gaza." Thunberg is among 12 activists aboard the Madleen, which is operated by the Freedom Flotilla Coalition. The vessel departed Sicily last Sunday on a mission that aims to break the sea blockade of Gaza and deliver humanitarian aid, while raising awareness over the growing humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave. The activists had said they planned to reach Gaza's territorial waters as early as Sunday. Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament who is of Palestinian descent, is among the others onboard. She has been barred from entering Israel because of her opposition to Israeli policies toward the Palestinians. Also on board is "Game of Thrones" star Liam Cunningham. After a three-month total blockade aimed at pressuring Hamas, Israel started allowing some basic aid into Gaza last month, but humanitarian workers have warned of famine unless the blockade and the war end. An attempt last month by Freedom Flotilla to reach Gaza by sea failed after another of the group's vessels was attacked by two drones while sailing in international waters off Malta. The group blamed Israel for the attack, which damaged the front section of the ship. Israel denied the allegations. — Euronews
Al Arabiya
9 hours ago
- Al Arabiya
British soldier arrested in Kenya on rape allegations
A British soldier in Kenya has been arrested on rape allegations, the UK defense ministry said Sunday, confirming a BBC report. 'We can confirm the arrest of a service person in Kenya,' a ministry spokesperson told AFP, adding that no further comment would be made while the matter was being investigated. The BBC reported that the alleged rape happened last month in Nanyuki, a town north of Nairobi close to where a large British base is located. According to the BBC report, the soldier who has been arrested went to a Nanyuki bar with fellow soldiers before the alleged rape happened. The base – British Army Training Unit Kenya (BATUK) – has been the focus of several controversies in Kenya in the past, notably the 2012 murder of a young Kenyan woman. In that case, the woman was last seen alive in the company of a British soldier. Her body was found in a septic tank. There were no arrests, but in 2021 Kenyan police reopened their investigation after Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported that several soldiers had heard one of their colleagues speak the same night about killing the woman. In 2003, the rights group Amnesty International said it had counted 650 rape accusations against British soldiers in Kenya between 1965 and 2001. Kenya, a former British colony, became independent in 1963. BATUK, on its website, says it is the biggest British Army contingent in Africa. It says it conducts training with Kenya's military, and a 'peace support team' also deploys from there across Africa. Under an agreement with Kenya, the British army has primary jurisdiction over the latest case alleging rape.
Saudi Gazette
15 hours ago
- Saudi Gazette
Colombia presidential hopeful shot in head at rally
BOGOTA — A Colombian presidential candidate is in a critical condition after he was shot three times — reportedly twice in the head — at a campaign event in the capital, Bogotá. Miguel Uribe Turbay, a 39-year-old senator, was attacked while addressing supporters in a park on Saturday. Police arrested a 15-year-old suspect at the scene, the attorney general's office said. Uribe's wife, Maria Claudia Tarazona, called on the nation to pray for his survival. "Miguel is currently fighting for his life. Let us ask God to guide the hands of the doctors who are treating him," she said. Uribe's Centro Democratico party condemned the attack, calling it a threat to "democracy and freedom in Colombia". Phone footage shared online appears to show the moment when he was shot in the head mid-speech, prompting those gathered to flee in panic. Paramedics said he had been shot in the knee and twice in the head, AFP news agency reported. He was airlifted to a hospital where supporters gathered to hold underwent surgery and was in the first critical hours of recovery, Bogotá Mayor Carlos Fernando Galán said late on Saturday 15-year-old suspect was shot in the leg while police and security officers pursued him after the attack, according to local was arrested carrying a "9mm Glock-type firearm", a statement from the attorney general's office said. An investigation is under government of left-wing President Gustavo Petro said it "categorically" condemned the attack as an "act of violence not only against his person, but also against democracy".Defense Minister Pedro Sanchez condemned the "vile attack" and offered a 3bn peso ($730,000; £540,000) reward for information about who may be behind Secretary of State Marco Rubio also condemned the shooting as a "direct threat to democracy".He blamed the attack, without providing examples, on "violent leftist rhetoric coming from the highest levels of the Colombian government". The suspect's motivation is still later urged Colombians to wish Uribe well, on what he described as a "day of pain", in a video address to the is a "political difference" between Uribe and the government, but it is "only political", he said."What matters most today is that all Colombians focus with the energy of our hearts, with our will to live... on ensuring that Dr Miguel Uribe stays alive," he a right-wing critic of Petro, announced his candidacy for next year's presidential election in October. He has been a senator since is from a prominent political family in Colombia, with links to the country's Liberal Party. His father was a union leader and mother was Diana Turbay, a journalist who was killed in 1991 in a rescue attempt after she had been kidnapped by the Medellin drugs cartel run at the time by Pablo Escobar. — BBC
