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Casablanca’s Court of Appeal sentenced Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni to five years in prison.
The court convicted Raissouni of “violent indecent assault.”
Police arrested Raissouni in May 2020 after an individual filed a complaint against him and accused him of sexual assault.
Soulaiman Raissouni was the editor-in-chief for the Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum.
Throughout the trial, Raissouni maintained his innocence and started a hunger strike in April to protest his imprisonment.
Raissouni also has to pay a MAD 100,000 fine as compensation for Adam, the complainant. Raissouni did not attend the trial.
Raissouni has argued that his imprisonment is due to his journalistic work.
The journalist received support from a score of public figures, who launched an online campaign to ask for his release.
Some of the activists shared Raissouni’s photos and several hashtags under “save Raissouni’s life.”
Some of his colleagues posted on social networks regarding his situation, warning about the deterioration of his health since he started a hunger strike.
Morocco’s prison authority DGAPR, publicly denied the journalist’s hunger strike, suggesting that it is only a “diet.”
In a recent statement, DGAPR accused the journalist of faking his hunger strike. The statement questioned Raissouni’s weight loss during his hunger strike, insinuating that a person on hunger strike for more than 90 days would lose more than 19 kilograms.
DGAPR maintained that Raissouni enjoyed all his rights in prison, including frequent health monitoring.
