Rabat – Morocco’s Court of First Instance sentenced today lawyer Mohammed Zianne to three years in prison.
The court also ordered the former human rights minister and previous head of the Moroccan Bar Association to pay a MAD 5,000 ($500).
In its verdict, the court said it found Ziane guilty on several charges, including “insulting the judiciary and contempt of public officials.”
Ziane also faced charges of defaming people on social media.
In January 2021, Morocco’s Ministry of Interior filed a complaint against the former minister for insulting national security institutions.
“The decision to lodge a complaint is based on concrete, material facts, through which state institutions have been offended through the dissemination of false accusations and allegations sanctioned by the Penal Code,” the ministry said.
Ziane sparked uproar in December 2020 after calling for the dissolution of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
Back then, the interior ministry released a statement against Ziane’s claims and allegations, saying that his remarks were only aimed at tarnishing the reputation of security forces and misleading national public opinion.
Last year, Ziane also accused the DGST of leaking an inappropriate video of him with a woman who is a former police officer.
The video showed Ziane naked with a suspended policewoman.
Judicial police opened an investigation into the leaking of the video, with the Central director of Morocco’s Judicial Police Mohamed Dkhissi responding to and condemning Ziane’s claims that the DGST was behind the leak.
