Raissouni’s sexual assault victim cites other cases similar to his

RABAT - Adam Ouch, one of the victims of Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni, arrested in 2020 for a sexual assault and released last July following a royal pardon, has responded in a YouTube video to an interview conducted by the Spanish media El Independiente with Raissouni.

Ouch said that he was not the only victim and that there are other similar cases that had not yet been revealed.

He cited as an example a sexual assault by Raissouni against a girl who was an intern at his newspaper in 2011, a fact that Ouch says relatives and friends of the journalist, whom he described as a ‘misogynist’, have tried to cover up and completely silence her. 

Raissouni, who was sentenced on appeal two years ago on sexual abuse charges, was freed July 28 along with several journalists and activists by a Royal pardon on the occasion of King Mohammed VI’s 25th anniversary of ascending the throne.

“Raissouni is a deceitful person. Instead of presenting proof of his innocence, he hides and doesn't show his face. He pretends to be a victim and presents things that make no sense, just to appear innocent and to clean up his image,” said Ouch, referring to the interview that the Spanish newspaper conducted with the freed journalist. 

Ouch clarified that he had never asked for help outside Morocco, and that he had only trusted the Morocco’s courts, “which have delivered justice.”

“Why don't you take a look at the evidence that I have presented to the court, could this journalist write such an article without contacting me, since I am a party to the case?” Ouch asked the people who support Raissouni. 

“But when it comes to Morocco, these people don't mind doing whatever they want without any objectivity, even going so far as to trample on the laws of the press,” he said, adding that Raissouni “is a person who believes his own lies.” 

Ouch recalled that during the trial he received several calls from human rights activists and some of his attacker's family members. She also says that many people have warned her about what could happen to her if she speaks out and reveals that she was a victim of assault. ‘I have received numerous threats and pressure to keep quiet,’ he says. 

However, Ouch said that he had now decided to come forward again to make his case known.

“While several people persist in defending an imaginary and nonsensical version, I cannot remain silent, I must tell the truth. these people cannot be considered human rights activists, on the contrary, they act according to their own personal interests instead of defending human rights values,” he stressed.

“I will not allow Raissouni to come now to play the hero and present himself as an activist, claiming that he is innocent of any accusation’, he concluded.

Moroccan police arrested Soulaimane Raissouni on 22 May 2020, one day after the complainant, under the pseudonym Adam Mohammed, shared his story with the police. 

Mohammed claimed that Raissouni sexually assaulted him in 2018 following an offer from Raissouni's wife to collaborate on a film related to the LGBTQ community.