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Rabat – The family of jailed journalist Taoufik Bouachrine, who faces charges of sexual assault, have allegedly fired British lawyer Rodney Dixon.
Moroccan newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia reported on Friday that Bouachrine’s family dismissed the lawyer, who had not made any progress in the case for three months.
Other local news outlets also reported that another foreign lawyer of Bouachrine’s, Rachel Linden, disappeared at a critical time when an expert committee handed its report on the videos allegedly seized during the arrest of the journalist.
The videos allegedly contain evidence of Bouachrine’s sexual misconduct. The journalist is facing charges of rape, violence, and human trafficking.
Dixon had appealed to the international community in June to intervene in Morocco’s alleged disregard for Bouachrine’s most basic rights.
Dixon had also accused the Moroccan judicial system of carrying out the desire of “some powerful people” in high offices who were nervous about Bouachrine’s reputation for objective investigative journalism.
In response, a judiciary source closely following the case said such comments are “surprising and shocking” as they come from a lawyer who should know how an “ordinary criminal case” works.
The source sent Morocco World News a “detailed account of the due process regarding criminal arrest in Moroccan law” to “show that Moroccan authorities have never violated Bouachrine’s rights.”
The source added that Dixon’s statement “is surprising and full of inaccuracies and lies.”
Bouachrine is expected to appear before the court today again as his latest trial was postponed on September 10.
The National Gendarmerie laboratory has submitted its results and analysis on the videos, allegedly of Bouachrine engaged in sexual acts.
Police seized the videos during his arrest in February.
Bouachrine is the director of Akhbar Al Yaoum newspaper and Al Yaoum 24. Police arrested the journalist at the headquarters of the newspaper.
Mohamed Kerrout, a lawyer for the complainants, claimed that the videos were not faked.
The lawyer said that the experts found that “Bouachrine is involved in the crimes of which he is accused.”
Today, a number of local news outlets shared leaked screenshots allegedly captured from the videos.
Some of the pictures show what appears to be Bouachrine with women in his office.
Bouachrine is facing several charges, including the exploitation of people in need, and the abuse of power for sexual purposes—complaints brought by his coworkers.
The journalist is also suspected of other crimes, including violent rape and attempted rape.
