The historian, journalist and human rights defender was arrested in Rabat, Morocco, on December 29, before being remanded in custody. Detained in quarantine, he should be brought before the investigating judge on January 20. Maâti Monjib is accused of money laundering. He has already been prosecuted for “financial embezzlement” and “attack on state security” since 2015. But for these supporters, these two cases are linked and these new accusations are only one more pressure exerted on the activist by authorities.
Since 2015, he has been in court. There were 21 hearings, all of which were postponed, before they even started. So they did not find anything serious on which the court can rely to try Maâti Monjib and his comrades. It is a habit of the Moroccan authorities to open trials like this, against defenders, activists, opponents and leave them open. They are never closed, never classified, they are never judged… It’s like a sword of Damocles for these activists. It is a practice (used to suppress) and (put) pressure on (activists).
