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Rabat – The Rabat Court of Appeal upheld a three-year prison sentence against former human rights minister Mohammed Ziane on Monday.
Ziane, who is also a lawyer, faced 11 charges, including “defamation contempt of public officials, insults against a corporate body, adultery, and sexual harassment.”
The court also upheld the fine against Ziane estimated at MAD 5,000 ($465).
The former minister must pay the fine to the woman, who accused him of sexual harassment.
Following the court’s verdict, police put Ziane into custody in the prison of El Aarjate, 15 kilometers east of Rabat.
The court originally sentenced Ziane to three years in prison last February, he appealed the verdict, denying the charges against him.
Last year in January, Morocco’s Ministry of Interior filed a lawsuit 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 stirred backlash in December 2020, when he called for the dissolution of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) and the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
