Rabat – Cyprus Ministry of Foreign Affairs exposed the fallacy of a news article published by Algerian media claiming a court in Cyprus issued arrest warrants for high-ranking Moroccan security officials.
The Algerian media outlet posted its article earlier this week, claiming that a number of high-ranking Moroccan officials were subject to arrest warrants over involvement in “international crimes.”
In a statement released on Friday, however, Theodoros Gotsis, the spokesperson for the Cypriot Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said the Algerian outlet’s claims were “completely unfounded.”
In a statement released on Friday, Gotsis stated that the authorities in Cyprus, including the judicial services and the police, have confirmed that the claims are baseless.
“These are nothing but fake news; no criminal case, and certainly no arrest warrant, has been issued against the individuals mentioned in the media reports,” Gotsis added, stressing that the authorities in Cyprus, including the judicial services and the police, have investigated the Algerian claims and found them to be baseless.
This strongly dismissive statement came mere days after Algerian Radio posted on January 16 a defamatory article claiming that a court in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, had issued international arrest warrants against senior Moroccan security officials on charges of “plotting to assassinate Amal Boussaid, the head of the International Organization for the Defense of the Rights and Freedoms of Moroccans Worldwide in Cyprus.”
Read also: Algerian Media Targets Moroccan Officials With Fake News
Yet the Algerian media’s disparaging coverage of Morocco’s security institutions stands in stark contrast to the country’s reputation as an international leader in security.
The North African kingdom is currently preparing to host 2025 the 93rd General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), an honor that further showcases Morocco’s leadership in international security.
In recent years, Interpol has on several occasions commended Morocco’s security agencies and expressed their satisfaction of the country’s efforts to spearhead security initiatives.
“We have worked with Morocco for years and are very impressed with the capabilities that have been put in place, not only to strengthen national responses but also to respond to threats in the region,” an Interpol official told the press on the sidelines of the announcement that Morocco would be the host of the organization’s 2025 General Assembly.
This latest unfounded controversy is part of a long-standing culture of Morocco-bashing among Algeria’s media and political class. In recent years, Algerian media have systematically targeted Moroccan officials and institutions in an attempt to tarnish the country’s reputation.
Most recently, after Algeria went through devastating forest fires in the summer of 2021, the Algerian regime and media went as far as accusing Morocco – without evidence – of having a hand in the fires to “sabotage Algerian democracy” and undermine Algerian regional interests.
In August 2021, Algeria subsequently cited its unevidenced accusations as the basis of its decision to sever diplomatic ties with Morocco.
Morocco, for its part, has consistently rejected the regime’s accusations as “baseless” and “unfounded. Tellingly, the Moroccan government has vowed that Morocco will remain on friendly and brotherly terms with the “Algerian people,” despite the apparent determination of its successive governments to undermine Morocco’s territorial integrity and tarnish its reputation on the world and continental stages.
