Moroccan journalist Hanane Bakour on trial over social media post

Amnesty called the charges against journalist Hanane Bakour “absurd” and urged the government to immediately drop the case against her

April 12, 2023 by Peoples Dispatch
Court in Sale, Morocco.

Moroccan journalist Hanane Bakour was back in court in Sale for the eighth time on Monday April 10 over a social media post she made on Facebook in 2021 criticizing the ruling party. The case against her has provoked widespread condemnation, with major international organizations such as Amnesty International calling it “absurd”.

In a statement published April 10, Amnesty wrote, “It is shocking, heavy-handed and absurd that a journalist faces criminal charges over a Facebook post that was critical of Morocco’s main political party. Hanane Bakour has a right to her opinions, even if politicians object to them.” It further criticized the government for “increasingly showing its intolerance of criticism of the political system,” and called for immediately dismissing the “trumped up charges” against Bakour and dropping the case against her.

The case against Bakour was brought by the ruling National Rally of Independents (RNI) party, accusing her of defamation, insult, and “publishing fake news by using electronic means that harm private life.” If convicted, she faces a three-year jail sentence. 

Bakour has been a journalist for 17 years and has worked with numerous Moroccan news organizations. At the time of her Facebook post, she was the editor-in-chief of news portal alyaoum24.com.

Her post in 2021 had criticized the ruling party’s conduct in the context of a local election. She had questioned the RNI’s role after a candidate for the post of a local council president in southern Morocco from the opposing Party of Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) was shot and critically wounded. He later succumbed to his injuries. 

Bakour called the election flawed and rebuked the ruling party candidate for going ahead with the election, which he eventually won. 

Even during her trial on Monday, Bakour remained steadfast in her criticism of the party and accused the prime minister and party leader Aziz Akhannouch of having a role in the charges being leveled against her. She said, “In today’s session, it was confirmed by concrete and conclusive evidence that the Prime Minister is the one behind my follow-up. Where his defense submitted a…document bearing Akhannouch’s signature.” The signature she was referring to relates to the prime minister assigning party officials to represent them in court, clearly showing the prime minister approves of the party’s legal action against Bakour.

After the trial was concluded, she reaffirmed her right to free speech and expression, saying, “I believe in my right to freedom, and this faith is stronger than every weapon.”

In Amnesty’s statement on Bakour’s case, they added that the persecution she is facing is part of a larger trend of cracking down on dissent in the country. They highlighted that “In 2022 alone, Moroccan authorities investigated, prosecuted and imprisoned at least seven journalists and activists for criticizing the government, as well as people who spoke online about religion or expressed solidarity with activists.”