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Rabat – Morocco’s Association for Victims’ Rights (AMDV) has condemned French NGO Reporters Without Borders’ (RSF) decision to award detained journalist Omar Radi its annual “Prize for Independence.”
RSF announced its decision in a press release on Monday, claiming that Radi “has been subjected to judicial harassment for his investigative reporting on sensitive subjects.”
In response, AMDV slammed the French NGO, stressing that it sent correspondence to each of the jury members to “highlight the severity of the accusations put against Omar Radi.”
The Moroccan association added: “Sadly, they chose to ignore it. The said charges have nothing to do with freedom of expression and consist of rape and indecent assault committed against a colleague in the workplace.”
AMDV also accused the jury members of ignoring the association’s attempts to address the situation and the victim’s side of story. Half of the RSF prize’s jury board members are affiliated with Amnesty International, which is “known for its hostility towards Morocco thus questioning the impartiality of their judgment,”AMDV noted.
A Moroccan court recently sentenced Radi to six years in prison, ruling that the journalist had been found guilty of “rape” and “receiving funds from a foreign agent.”
Radi was also convicted of “undermining Morocco’s security.”
Moroccan police arrested Radi in 2020 after Hafsa Boutahar, a colleague at the Moroccan newspaper Le Desk, filed a complaint accusing him of rape.
Radi denied Boutahar’s accusations, saying that they had “consensual sexual relations” on more than one occasion.
But Boutahar insisted that Radi had raped her on July 12, 2020 at their boss’ house, where she temporarily resided for over a month.
Radi’s alleged victim has received a wave of criticism from the journalist’s supporters and some NGOs, casting doubts on the rape allegations and arguing that the journalist was solely arrested because of his “courageous” and “detailed” coverage of sensitive issues.
Over the past months, Boutahar has given several interviews in which she condemned the criticism she has faced from Radi‘s supporters while denouncing some NGOs’ victimization of Radi.
In a press conference last year, Boutahar condemned the lack of support and solidarity from NGOs, accusing some of leaking information about her complaint.
Slogans and values promoted by NGOs are “nothing but words and were easily forgotten” in her case, Boutahar argued, saying that she felt “unprotected” when she reached out to some human rights groups and women’s rights NGOs for help.
