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Rabat – In recent weeks, Morocco has found itself at the center of a tabloid frenzy, after a Brazilian Instagram influencer, Lizaine Gutierrez shared her controversial account of an alleged “nightmare” experience during her stay in a Moroccan prison.
The news was quickly picked up by tabloids like The Sun and The Daily Star, both of which published sensationalized accounts of the controversial account.
The tabloids’ coverage attempted to paint Morocco’s legal and prison systems in a deeply negative light.
In her controversial account, the Instagram influencer claimed that she went through “humiliating treatment.”
The coverage of her account, however, has been sharply criticized for its lack of balance and for promoting unverified claims without offering the Moroccan authorities a fair chance to respond.
The coverage surrounding her arrest also failed to fully cite the true circumstances of the incident, with the tabloids claiming that the detention took place after Moroccan authorities suspected she was a transgender.
A source familiar with the dossier told Morocco World News (MWN) today that her arrest took place on October 31 following a dispute with police officers stationed outside the Sofitel hotel in Marrakech.
The source said the Instagram influencer was intoxicated and that she insulted the police officers as well as filmed them with her mobile phone.
She also slapped one of them, an act that was documented by the surveillance camera placed near the hotel.
The situation prompted her arrest for provocation and violence against the police officers.
She was then placed in police custody on the instructions of the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Marrakech First Instance Court.
On November 1, a judge ordered her detention at the Loudaya prison and on November 8, she was sentenced to one month in prison.
She left the prison on December 6.
DGAPR response
The source told MWN that investigations showed that there were no abuses during the handling of the case by the police services or at the Loudaya prison, a statement that was echoed by the Moroccan prison authority.
The Moroccan department responded to the claims by categorically denying the allegations and factual inaccuracies presented by tabloids.
The Moroccan prison authority also sent copies of the statement and disclaimer to both The Sun and The Daily Star.
The statement said that upon Gutierrez’s arrival at the penitentiary, she was assigned a female prison warder to accompany her to complete the existing jail intake procedures.
“As she was brought to the women’s ward, she underwent a thorough search by a female prison staff member in a manner consistent with applicable law. She was housed in premises intended for women offenders in pre-trial custody,” the statement said.
The former inmate also was subject to a routine medical exam by the correctional physician, a customary process that all defendants undergo.
“She was lodged in a fairly wide cell fitted with bunk beds. The room meets the sanitation, lighting, ventilation and other general health standards. From the day she entered her cell, she could sleep in her own bed,” the statement added, citing also the visit she received from a representative of the Brazilian consulate.
“The offender in question was also provided with clothing items by the diplomatic officer. All offenders are supplied with a fully equipped personal hygiene kit on a regular basis, added to which detergents and cleaning products,” the statement added.
The prison authority also said that the Instagram star enjoyed the delivery of her meals and rations of bread three times a day in sufficient quantities like the other inmates in the prison facility.
History of inaccuracies
DGAPR’s response and the details surrounding the arrest were conveniently omitted from the tabloids’ portrayals, leaving a misleading and one-sided-narrative, raising concerns about the credibility of tabloids like The Sun and The Daily Star.
The publications had a history of sensationalism, with previous stories such as The Sun’s 2010 false report about a terror threat.
In 2010, it publicly acknowledged publishing a false story that sparked widespread panic, claiming that the studios of the popular British soap Coronation Street were being targeted by Al Qaeda.
A week later, The Sun retracted the story and offered its apology.
In 2017, a survey by the BBC also revealed that The Sun was ranked as the least trustworthy, most biased and least accurate of all UK newspapers.
This was not an isolated incident as tabloids like The Daily Star have similarly faced scrutiny for publishing stories without adequate fact-checking or perspective relying on incomplete information to generate headlines.
“This same survey carried out two years ago ] highlights The Sun’s worsening reputation. In terms of trust, Facebook and The Daily Star were voted as less trustworthy than the paper in 2015. Although The Sun was still considered the least impartial source of news,” The Canary reported.
