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Doha – The Interim Committee for the Management of Press and Publishing Affairs in Morocco, which is affiliated with the National Press Council, has announced filing a complaint against Francisco Carrión with the Complaints, Arbitration, and Journalistic Ethics Committee of the Federation of Press Associations in Spain.
The Committee’s move comes in the wake of insulting remarks by Carrión, who controversially took to the social media platform X to dismiss his Moroccan critics as “crazy” and “barking dogs.”
In a statement detailing the motive and content of its complaint, the Committee said it seized Spain’s Journalistic Ethics Committee after Carrión, a journalist at the Spanish newspaper El Independiente, posted offensive remarks on his X account, alongside a photo of Soulaimane Raissouni, whom he had interviewed for the newspaper’s September 1, 2024 issue.
Several Moroccan media outlets took issue with this interview, but Carrión dismissed these critical comments as mere “barking,” adding that the Moroccan journalists who wrote them were “dogs that want to bite.”
Read also: Moroccan Press Federations Blast Spanish Journalist for Insulting Moroccan Journalists
In its complaint, the Interim Committee urged the Spanish body to take necessary measures to ensure justice for the affected Moroccan journalists, in accordance with the Code of Ethics of Journalism of the Federation of Press Associations in Spain.
The Spanish Federation is a member of the International Federation of Journalists, which operates under a code of ethics binding on all its members.
This latest incident follows previous controversial statements by Carrión, who is known for his alleged ties to Algerian intelligence services.
In February, Mohamed Salah Tamek, the General Delegate for Morocco’s Penitentiary Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR), recalled that Carrión had published blatant lies about the situation of Moroccan prisons while the Spanish Prime Minister visited the North African country to strengthen bilateral relations.
The National Social Federation of the Press (FNSP) and the Moroccan Confederation of Newspaper and Electronic Media Publishers have both strongly condemned Carrión’s remarks, with the FNSP urging national press unions to file complaints with international press bodies and the National Union of Journalists in Spain.
The Confederation has also called on the National Press Council to file a complaint with the Spanish Federation of Journalists Associations (FAPE) and other international professional bodies.
