Rabat – Moroccan journalist Hanane Bakour on Monday appeared for the eighth time before the Court of First Instance in Sale, near Rabat, as part of a three-years-long trial in which the Moroccan ruling party, the National Rally of Independents (RNI), took legal action against her for “defamation and insult.”
Yesterday’s trial session revealed that overseeing the case is Aziz Akhannouch, the head of Morocco’s government. Bakour shared on her social media a document signed by Akhannouch, showing that he assigned Younes Abchir, deputy director of RNI’s central headquarters, to represent the party in court.
“In today’s session, it was confirmed by tangible and conclusive evidence that the head of government is behind the complaint against me,” the journalist wrote yesterday in a Facebook post, stressing that the document bears Akhannouch’s signature.
Criticizing Akhannouch for granting permission for another person to attend the trial hearings and “cling to the complaint,” she noted that Article 14 of RNI’s Basic Law stipulates that the president of the party should assume the duty of “representing the party before constitutional institutions and governmental, administrative, and judicial authorities.”
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In addition, Bakour, who worked as a journalist for 17 years with several Moroccan outlets, criticized Akhannouch for being “radio silent” when faced with Moroccans complaining and protesting against inflation and soaring fuel and commodity prices.
While the head of government was nowhere to be seen or heard as Moroccans continued to vent their frustration and dissatisfaction amid a worsening cost of living crisis, she added, he has “found the time to discuss and sign an authorization to take legal action against a journalist for exercising her right to expression.”
RNI is accusing Bakour of “publishing fake news by using electronic means that harm private life,” referring to a Facebook post the journalist shared in 2021.
In the post, she criticized the ruling party for holding a local election which ended with the election of Mbarka Bouaida as the new president of the party council in the region of Guelmim-Oued Noun, while an RNI member was critically injured by a gunshot at his house.
Many Moroccan journalists, public figures, and activists have expressed their solidarity with Bakour, with some accusing the government of targeting journalists.
Meanwhile, Amnesty International issued a statement on Monday calling for the “trumped-up charges” against the journalist to be “dismissed immediately and the case against her dropped.”
“It is shocking, heavy-handed and absurd that a journalist faces criminal charges over a Facebook post that was critical of Morocco’s main political party,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “Hanane Bakour has a right to her opinions, even if politicians object to them.”
