The columnist with a critical tone, sentenced in early July for “sexual assault”, assures us that he is being prosecuted “because of his opinions”.
Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni, recently sentenced to five years in prison for “sexual assault”, has stopped the hunger strike he had been observing for 122 days to protest his detention, his lawyer announced on Monday (August 9th).
“We were informed today that it has arrested Saturday his hunger strike after his hospitalization, in response to calls from his supporters to the national and international levels”, told AFP M e Mohamed Messaoudi. The doctor who is doing his follow-up in prison “informed him that his health is in danger and that he had only two choices: to stop the hunger strike or to die”, reported the lawyer, quoting the journalist.
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Mr. Raissouni, 49, in detention since 2020, recently demanded to be hospitalized to end his hunger strike, while the prison administration assured him that he “refused to go to the hospital”. At the beginning of July, the journalist with a critical tone was sentenced to five years in prison for “sexual assault” following a complaint by an LGBT activist. Facts that he disputes, assuring that he is being prosecuted “because of his opinions”.
The columnist refused to eat for more than three months to protest against a “great injustice”. The prosecution claims that it has benefited from a “fair” trial. “I never tried to blackmail anyone to free me. I only demanded a fair trial which would inevitably exonerate me,” Soulaimane Raissouni told his defense on Monday.
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Several national and international NGOs, personalities, and Moroccan political parties had called for his release. The Moroccan authorities, for their part, insist on the independence of the judiciary and the conformity of procedures.
