Morocco’s judicial police arrested the journalist on December 26 after he posted a tweet criticizing a judge for sentences against Hirak Rif activists.
Rabat – Moroccan journalist Omar Radi left prison on provisional release on Tuesday, December 31, pending his trial on January 2.
Le360 reported that the journalist’s lawyer petitioned the Casablanca Court of Appeal for Radi’s temporary release.
Judicial police arrested Radi on Thursday, December 26. The journalist’s arrest came after he posted a tweet condemning the sentences that activists of Hirak Rif movements who received sentences up to 20 years in prison.
“Let us all remember Appeals Judge Lahcen Tolfi, the enforcer against our brothers. In many regimes, small-time henchmen like him come back begging, later, claiming they were only ‘carrying out orders.’ No forgetting or forgiveness with such undignified officials!” Radi tweeted in April of last year.
Human rights groups, journalists, and activists launched a solidarity campaign calling for Radi’s release.
Read also: Prominent Moroccan Personalities Speak up Against Detention of Journalist Omar Radi
On December 28, hundreds of activists and journalists flocked to the Moroccan parliament in Rabat to denounce the journalist’s arrest.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also released a statement condemning the journalist’s detention.
HWR’s Middle East and North Africa director Sarah Leah Whitson said, “Criticizing officials is protected speech and no one should face prison time for peacefully doing it.”
She added that Morocco’s authorities should “immediately free Omar Radi and drop their case against him, which reeks of political vengeance against his critical journalism and activism.”
