Rabat - Morocco’s National Press Union has strongly condemned the leaking of screenshots allegedly taken from the videos seized in the Bouachrine case.
Rabat – Morocco’s National Press Union has strongly condemned the leaking of screenshots allegedly taken from the videos seized in the Bouachrine case.
A number of Moroccan local news outlets shared a set of leaked screenshots allegedly captured from the videos seized in the arrest of journalist Taoufik Bouachrine, who faces charges of sexual assault.
Some of the pictures show what appears to be Bouachrine with women in his office.
In response, Morocco’s Press Union shared a statement today to condemn the leak and the sharing of the pictures online.
The union wrote that the “protection of human dignity, whether accused or victimized, is a right safeguarded by law.”
The union added that it is the responsibility of the press to ensure protection for journalistic principles and to raise awareness among citizens.
The statement also said that sharing the pictures of a sexual nature and leaked documents from the report, which was prepared by the National Gendarmerie Laboratory, “violates” the dignity of both the victims and the accusers.
The publication of the extracts, according to the statement, is a “contempt for all parties” concerned, which undermines “the essence of the principles of ethics of the profession of the press.”
The National Union of Moroccan Press, therefore, emphasized that the press should be primarily concerned “with protecting the ethics and dignity of the people.” The statement also slammed the news outlets which shared the photos, stating that the press is not made for “profit.”
Bouachrine is still awaiting trial. He was arrested in February after several women filed complaints against him.
Among the charges Bouachrine faces are sexual assault, human trafficking, rape, and attempted rape.
On September 10, the National Gendarmerie Laboratory submitted a report on the videos allegedly showing Bouachrine engaged in sexual acts.
The review of the videos was submitted the same day, when Bouachrine appeared before the judge.
A lawyer of the complainants told local media after Bouachrine’s previous hearing that the videos “are not fake,” according to the experts who analyzed them.
Bouachrine is the director of Akhbar Al Yaoum newspaper and Al Yaoum24. Police arrested the journalist at the headquarters of the newspaper.
