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Rabat – Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) denied that Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni’s health status is deteriorating.
Police arrested the journalist and editor-in-chief of the Akhbar Al Yaoum newspaper last year after a man claimed Raissouni assaulted him in 2018.
Since Raissouni’s arrest, NGOs and human rights activists have been calling for his immediate release.
To protest his arrest, Raissouni has been on a hunger strike for 47 days.
Several journalists, friends, colleagues, family members, and human rights activists have called for the judiciary to consider his situation.
Mayssa Salama Ennaji, a Moroccan journalist, shared a photo of a traditional cloth used for burials in Islam, saying that Raissouni’s wife bought it for him in case he dies due to hunger strike.
“We are only seeking justice, if he is guilty, give us proof and prosecute him, but if he is innocent and that his arrest is due to his journalistic work, please release him.”
Omar Cherkaoui, an academic and human rights activist, called on the judiciary to either sentence the journalist or release him.
The activist hopes Raissouni will end his hunger strike.
Amid all requests and concerns, DGAPR issued a press release to reassure the public about Raissouni’s health status.
DGAPR said “the information that Raissouni “cannot move” or is “dying is unfounded.”
The DGAPR statement stated the journalist received his defense team today and was able to “benefit” from a visit from a regional committee of human rights.
DGAPR as well as other committees have previously attempted to convince Raissouni to end his hunger strike, but he refused to comply with the requests.
“He benefited from the visits of members of the regional committee of human rights and the observatory of Moroccan prisons on three different occasions,” one of which was on May 21, DGAPR said.
The prison authority added that Raissouni also benefits from medical checkups, such as his admission to the Ibn Rochd University hospital for medical testing.
“The tests show that [Raissouni’s] health condition is normal. DGAPR’s health staff monitors his health status on a daily basis,” the statement added.
Raissouni has been in prison since May 2020 after his alleged victim under the pseudonym Adam Muhammad accused him of “assault.”
The alleged victim identified himself as a member of the Moroccan LGBT community. Muhammad said he feared making the report of his assault public due to the controversy surrounding homosexuality in Morocco.
Mohamed Kandil, one of Raissouni’s lawyers said that he received news that the journalist’s health condition is in “danger.”
He also shared the same photo Mayssa Salama Ennaji posted on her Facebook, calling for his immediate release and warning against further deterioration of his health.
The lawyer shared a series of similar posts, including the #save_Souleimane_Raissouni_life hashtag.
Fatima Al Ifriqui, a prominent Moroccan journalist, also joined the campaign in support of Raissouni.
On May 22, the journalist shared the #keep_soulaimane_raissouni_alive hashtag, calling on her followers to reshare the post that called for the journalist’s immediate release.
DGAPR reassured the public that Raissouni enjoys all his rights provided by law, including his right to daily recreation.
