In response to today’s trial of journalist Hanane Bakour, who faces up to three years in prison and a fine after being accused of “publishing false news using electronic media that damages privacy”, for a Facebook post in Criticizing a local election by the ruling party, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said:
“It is scandalous, excessive and absurd for a journalist to face criminal charges for a Facebook post criticizing Morocco’s main political party. Hanane Bakour has the right to express her opinions, even if politicians oppose them”.
“Morocco is increasingly showing its intolerance towards criticism of the political system. These trumped up charges against Hanane must be dismissed immediately, and the case against her must be dropped.”
Additional information
Hanane Bakour’s trial is expected to start today at the Court of First Instance in Sale, a city in northern Morocco. The charges stem from a complaint filed by the ruling party, the National Rally of Independents, in September 2021. Bakour had published that the election of the new chairman of the party’s council in the Guelmim-Ued Noun region in southern Morocco, was defective because a member of the National Association of Independents had been seriously injured by a shot at his home. The journalist remains free while the trial is being held.
Hanane Bakour has been practicing journalism for 17 years. She has worked in various Moroccan media, including Akhbar Al Youm, Al Massae and Al Jarida Al Oukhra. She until 2021 she was editor-in-chief of the website alyaoum24.com.
Under international standards, any limitation of the right to freedom of expression must be established by a clear and precise law and must be necessary and proportionate to protect a legitimate objective, such as national security, public order, or public health or morals. . Broad and vague limitations on free expression imposed by labeling information as “fake news” fall short of this threshold. They limit, and sometimes criminalize, legitimate forms of expression that are protected by national and international human rights law.
Muzzling expression both online and offline is part of the ongoing crackdown on dissent in Morocco. In 2022 alone, the Moroccan authorities investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned at least seven journalists and activists for criticizing the government, as well as people who had spoken online about religion or expressed solidarity with activists.