Rabat rejects Monjib’s "irresponsible statements"

RABAT - Morocco’s Interior Ministry categorically rejected on Wednesday "the irresponsible statements and tendentious allegations" by Maati Monjib, which aim to mislead national and international public opinion and undermine the image of the Kingdom in terms of human rights.

“Just after his provisional release on a judicial decision, the man named Maati Monjib made, in a video posted on certain electronic sites and social networks, declarations and tendentious allegations in which he undermined the institutions of the State, by mentioning, in bad faith, concepts and terminologies which are unusual and far from the reality and nature of the work of national institutions, such as the "political police", "political security" and the existence "of a secret structure threatening the security of Moroccans,” said the ministry in a press release.

“The work of security institutions is governed by constitutional provisions, international conventions and national laws, which allow them to exercise their noble missions of maintaining public order and protecting people and property, while respecting the principles of transparency and the rules of good security governance, especially since their effectiveness is hailed inside and outside Morocco, as institutions recognized for their dedication and altruism in the service of the homeland and citizens,” it said.

The ministry expressed its categorical refusal "of this kind of irresponsible statements which aim to mislead national and international public opinion and to undermine the image of the Kingdom in terms of human rights, stressing that these low manoeuvres will not dissuade the State institutions from continuing the correct and firm application of legal provisions against all those who believe that they benefit from legal immunity for the simple fact that they hold the double nationality.

"All Moroccans are equal before the law and are required to comply with it, without favouritism or discrimination," the statement concluded.

The 60-year-old historian and rights activist, who is accused of embezzlement and money laundering, was provisionally released on Tuesday from El Arjate prison near Rabat after three months in custody.

In October 2015, Monjib was banned from leaving Morocco because he was under investigation for "financial irregularities" linked to his management of the Ibn Rochd Centre for studies and communication which he founded in December 1999 as a public limited company rather than a non-governmental organisation in a bid to avoid being held into account for foreign money receipts.