In Morocco, the justice rejects the request for the release of the opponent Mohamed Ziane

The request for the release of Moroccan opponent and former minister Mohamed Ziane, 79, was rejected by a court in Rabat, his son, Ali Reda Ziane, who is also his lawyer, said on Tuesday (December 6th). “But we continue to assert that the procedure for summoning him to appear before the court was not respected, which leads to the nullity of the decision of his imprisonment”he estimated.

Former president of Rabat, Mohamed Ziane was arrested and imprisoned on November 21 after being sentenced on appeal to three years in prison following a complaint from the authorities. Claiming to have been tried “because of his opinions”he appealed in cassation.

A famous lawyer in Morocco, Mr. Ziane notably defended Taoufik Bouachrine, an opposition press boss imprisoned since 2018 after being sentenced to fifteen years in prison for “sexual assaults” against eight women – charges he has always denied. , denouncing “a political trial”. Mr. Ziane also took a stand in favor of the “Hirak du Rif”, a powerful social movement that agitated this mountainous Berber region of northern Morocco in 2016 and 2017.

He was prosecuted under a complaint from the Ministry of the Interior for eleven counts, including those of “contempt of public officials and justice”, “insult against a body constituted”, “defamation” , “adultery” or even “sexual harassment”. Mr. Ziane was sentenced on February 23 to three years in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams (470 euros), but left free until his appeal trial.

Founder of the Moroccan Liberal Party (PML) and senior civil servant, he made a name for himself through statements critical of the authorities, in particular the intelligence services. Mr. Ziane was Minister of Human Rights between 1995 and 1996. Close to circles of power, he was also the government’s lawyer in the 1990s. In recent years, he has become famous for his outspokenness towards the Moroccan security apparatus.