Moroccan opponent Mohamed Ziane, former president of Rabat and Minister of Human Rights between 1995 and 1996, was arrested and imprisoned on Monday evening after being sentenced on appeal to three years in prison, it was reported. learned from judicial sources and from his son.
“He was transferred to El Arjat prison (near Rabat).
He was not even legally notified (of his conviction) and he never appeared,”
Ali Reda Ziane, a lawyer for Mohamed Ziane, told AFP.
“He was condemned (by the Court of Appeal of Rabat) for all possible and imaginable charges, it is an aberration that I have never seen”
, protested the son of the opponent.
Eleven counts
In a press release, the prosecution then confirmed that
“the competent judicial police services, and on the instructions of the public prosecutor, arrested the person concerned and imprisoned him in execution of the provisions of the appeal decision”.
Mohamed Ziane was prosecuted under a complaint from the Moroccan Ministry of the Interior, for eleven counts, including those of
"contempt of public officials and justice"
,
"insult against a constituted body"
,
" defamation”
,
“adultery”
or even
“sexual harassment”.
He was sentenced on February 23 to three years in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams (470 euros) but he was released.
Founder of the Moroccan Liberal Party (PML), this great clerk of the State made himself known by critical statements against the authorities, in particular the Moroccan intelligence services.
Mohamed 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.
