DIDH slams US State Department’s statement on two jailed journalists

Morocco’s Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights says US Department of State spokesperson's statement on two court cases is based on 'one-sided' information from supporters of the accused.

RABAT - The statement by the US State Department spokesman Ned Price about two defendants is based on “partial” information emanating exclusively from the supporters of the accused, said the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights (DIDH) Tuesday in a statement

Journalist Soulaimane Raissouni was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of indecent assault against another man while Omar Radi is tried on charges of espionage and rape.

“This information knowingly obscured the point of view of the complainants and their defences, going so far as to deny their very status of victim and their universally recognized right to lodge a complaint,” said DIDH.

“It was noted with astonishment that the statement of the US State Department spokesman refers only to the allegations of the convicted person, focusing on his professional status, and to alleged violations of the standards relating to a fair trial while the competent public prosecutor's office in its press release of July 12, 2021 clearly highlighted the fairness of the said trial,” it said.

“Morocco being attached to the respect of the fundamental rights of all litigants, whatever their statutes, therefore the independence of the judiciary, enshrined in the 2011 Constitution and resulting from the substantial reforms initiated in the Kingdom, for more than two decades, is the guarantor of respect for these fundamental rights,” it noted.

“Morocco remains deeply attached to the consolidation of the values ​​of individual and collective freedoms, in particular the freedoms of expression and association, which are continually developing, within the framework of a prosperous, tolerant and inclusive society that banishes arbitrariness, injustice and violence,” concluded the Delegation.