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Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Interior has denied “the irresponsible” and “tendentious” allegations from Moroccan activist Maati Monjib.
Monjib, who received a one-year sentence in January for “money laundering”, was temporarily released from prison on Tuesday.
The activist denied all allegations against him and was on hunger strike until his release, protesting his arrest.
Following his release, the activist made several remarks in a video online, describing security services in Morocco “as political police” and “political security.”
In response, the Ministry of Interior refused Maati Monjib’s claims, describing them as “tendentious allegations.”
The ministry emphasized that such claims undermine and the institutions of the state, invoking concepts and “terminologies foreign and far from the reality and the nature of the work of national institutions.”
The ministry argued that the work of Morocco’s security institutions is framed by constitutional provisions, international conventions, and national laws.
Such principles allow institutions to exercise the constitutional laws of “maintaining public order and protecting people and property while respecting the principles of transparency and the rules of good security governance, especially since their effectiveness is hailed inside and outside Morocco.”
The ministry concluded its statement, stressing that such “abject maneuvers will not dissuade State institutions from pursuing the correct and firm application of legal provisions against all those who believe they benefit from legal immunity for the simple fact that they hold the double nationality.”
Moroccan police arrested Maati Monjib in December before a court sentenced him to one year in prison for “money laundering” and for “undermining Morocco’s security.”
NGOs have long called for his release, with some politicizing the case and accusing Morocco of sentencing the activist in absentia without his presence or consent.
Moroccan institutions, including the Supreme Council of Judiciary, denied all claims, arguing that all the allegations are “untruthful.”
The Supreme Council of the Judiciary said Maati Monjib was at the court while judges waited to see whether he would join the hearing.
“He did not request that neither did his defense, despite being informed of the date of the hearing,” the council stated in February.
