Moroccan authorities have arrested since September 2019 at least 10 activists, artists and other citizens "who have only peacefully expressed critical views" on social media, two NGOs, including Human Rights Watch (HRW), said on Wednesday. calling for their release.
Those concerned are accused of "disrespect due to the king", "insult to state institutions" and "contempt of public officials" , write HRW and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) in a joint statement, urging the authorities to "release them immediately and drop the charges against them".
"None have been prosecuted under the press and publishing code" , but on the basis of criminal law, stress the NGOs.
"Faced with self-censorship that is eroding, the authorities are cracking down frantically in an attempt to restore the red lines," said Ahmed Benchemsi, HRW communications director for the Middle East and North Africa region.
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The two NGOs cite, among others, the case of journalist Omar Radi, who faces up to a year in prison for criticizing a judge on Twitter, and that of two Youtubeurs sentenced to four and three years in prison "for disrespect to the king " .
"For the same offense" , courts have sentenced two high school students to three years and four years in prison, regret HRW and AMDH.
The first high school student was for sharing the lyrics of a controversial song on Facebook, the second for having chanted in a stadium a rap song he had written. His sentence was then reduced on appeal to eight months.
"A country that takes seriously the international treaties it has signed should either abolish the laws that muzzle free speech, or at least stop applying them," said Youssef Raissouni, secretary general of the AMDH.
A #freekoulchi (“ free them all ”) campaign was recently launched on Facebook and Twitter to denounce the legal sanctions against critical voices from the authorities.
Asked about this, government spokesperson Hassan Abyaba said in January that "the human rights situation is experiencing no decline in Morocco" , calling for "a distinction between those who speak freely and those who commit repressed crimes by the law".
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