An appeals court in Morocco doubled on Tuesday, April 23 the sentence of Mohamed Reda Taoujni, sentenced at first instance to two years in prison for “defamation”, on a complaint from the Minister of Justice, for publications related to the case “Pablo Escobar of the Sahara”.
Arrested in the city of Agadir (South-West), YouTuber Mohamed Reda Taoujni was sentenced on February 21 to two years in prison and a fine equivalent to 1,830 euros following two complaints from the Minister of Justice, Abdellatif Wow. This sentence was increased on Tuesday on appeal to four years in prison with the same fine, said his lawyer Redouane Arabi who denounced a “very severe” verdict.
The minister accused the blogger of defaming him in two videos he posted online, questioning his possible links to vast drug trafficking, known as the “Escobar of the Sahara” affair, after the arrest of two elected officials from his political party, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), as part of the investigation.
Found guilty of “defamation”
Members of the PAM which participates in the government, Saïd Naciri, president of the Prefectural Council of Casablanca (West), and Abdennabi Biioui, president of the Oriental Regional Council (East) were placed in detention on December 22 for their alleged involvement in this trafficking. Saïd Naciri is also president of Wydad Casablanca, one of the most important football clubs in Africa. This is the first time that two political figures of such rank are alleged to be involved in a drug affair of such magnitude in Morocco.
The blogger was sentenced after being found guilty of “insulting a public official” and “defamation”, his lawyer said, describing the sentence as “severe and unfair”. The investigation concerns a total of 25 people, 20 of whom are incarcerated. They are suspected in particular of “possession, marketing, and export of drugs” and “corruption”, according to the prosecution.
The suspects are believed to be linked to Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim, a Malian who is serving a ten-year sentence in Morocco for an international drug trafficking case. Nicknamed the “Pablo Escobar of the Sahara”, Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim was arrested in 2019 in Casablanca, as part of an investigation into the record seizure of 40 tonnes of cannabis resin in 2015 in trucks belonging to him.
