Rabat – The criminal chamber of Casablanca’s Court of Appeals has decided to postpone further investigation into the Taoufik Bouachrine case. The director of Moroccan newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum currently stands accused of hefty charges, including involvement in human trafficking and sexual harassment and rape,
The representative of the public prosecutor has rejected all requests made by Bouachrine’s defense team. One of the defense’s foremost requests was to render the accounts of Afaf Berrani, one of the complaints, invalid for use as evidence during the trial, report Moroccan media.
Berrani is a young woman who filed and retracted a complaint against Bouachrine, accusing him of sexually harassing her. Berrani then accused the judicial police of “falsifying” her statements, and claimed that she had not actually been assaulted. However, in response to her contradictory statements, she was charged with false testimony, and a video of her accusing Bouachrine of assault was screened at a press conference.
The representative of the public prosecutor has asked that the defense to write out their requests and send a copy to the lawyers of the complainants for approval.
Bouachrine is scheduled to appear before the jury on April 18.
