The European Parliament (EP), through the draft resolution on “the situation of journalists in Morocco, in particular, the case of Omar Radi”, refers to “a judicial file opened before an independent court in a partner country and interferes, this fact, in the ongoing judicial process, which is in contradiction with the principles of human rights”, said the president of the Joint Morocco-EU Parliamentary Commission, Lahcen Haddad.
In a letter addressed to MEPs, on behalf of the Moroccan members of this Commission, Mr. Haddad recalled that “several parties have sought to believe, in the name of human rights, that this person (Omar Radi) has been unjustly imprisoned and arbitrarily for his opinions, while
Noting that Morocco has since 2016 purged the Press Code of custodial sentences for journalists, Mr. Haddad indicated that the condition of publicity of the trial was respected, that the arrest procedures were in accordance with the law and the criminal proceedings, that the defendant’s defense requested a face-to-face trial and that all his requests were accepted by the judges.
Similarly, he continued, a reasonable time was respected for his trial, adding that the accused was informed of the charges against him, had access to the lawyer of his choice, and was able to dispose of the time and facilities necessary for the preparation of his defense, with the granting of numerous postponements for the preparation of the trial, in accordance with the request of the defense.
“As with any other case of trial noted by human rights NGOs, the conditions for a fair trial and judgment were present”, he argued, noting that the Moroccan justice reform started a few years ago guarantees free and honest access to justice for everyone.
In this letter, Mr. Haddad also indicated that the complainant, who herself is a journalist, was immediately heard by the Attorney General after filing her complaint.
“Aware of what this case of sexual violence, like previous ones, represents for the rights of litigants, men, and women, in our country, and in accordance with the principle of the independence of justice, the court decision was rendered on the only basis for impartial law enforcement,” he explained.
Mr. Haddad also condemned “strongly the campaign of defamation, fake news, harassment, and denigration, relentless and unprecedented in its scale, of which the complainant was the victim in this case, as well as the slander, attacks and repeated threats, detrimental to his dignity and jeopardizing his safety, health, and well-being”.
And Mr. Haddad pointed out that “no person may be subjected, as underlined by the preamble to the Constitution of the Kingdom and article 26 of the International Covenant on Civil Rights, to discrimination or persecution because of her sex, her identity, her social origin, her opinion, in particular for the purpose of intimidation or to force her to silence”.
“Neither the profession, nor the notoriety, nor the relations, nor even the opinions of the persons concerned can constitute, on their own, elements for or against crimes and/or misdemeanors, just as they cannot in any way call into question the principle of equality of citizens before the law guaranteed by article 6 of the Moroccan Constitution”, continued Mr. Haddad, who invited his European colleagues as well as the other speakers to work to make prevail, when they consider it appropriate, the international provisions in the matter, knowing that the judicial process of the case of Omar Radi is still in progress and that the case is in the process of cassation.
“We reiterate our recommendation that all stakeholders adhere to the principles of human rights and fundamental freedoms recognized by national and international law, and to act in accordance with the law, international standards, and ethical rules, as the basic principles relating to respect for the independence of justice remind us of this,” he said.
Mr. Haddad also indicated that the Moroccan deputies consider it urgent to ensure that women victims of sexual rape universally benefit from the rights and principles enshrining equality, security, freedom, integrity, and dignity of all human beings.
“We are concerned that violence against women runs counter to the achievement of equality, development, and peace, as already indicated in the Nairobi Forward-Looking Strategies for the advancement of women, in which a series of measures was recommended aimed at combating violence against women and all forms of obstacles to the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination ‘against women”, he warned, acknowledging that violence against women reflects historically unequal power relations between men and women, which have resulted in domination and discrimination exercised by the former, which hampered the promotion of the seconds.
“We strongly defend the right of the victim of this alleged act of rape committed by a journalist on a woman, journalist too, to resort to justice”, he underlined, adding that “the right to a fair trial should not be guaranteed only for a male journalist and prohibited for a female journalist”.
And Mr. Haddad continued that the Moroccan deputies, members of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, ask all MEPs to be vigilant in the face of this scenario which is still in the judgment phase before the Court of Cassation and not votes for this resolution which promotes a journalist presumed to be a rapist at the expense of a journalist who accuses him of having violated her and whom the Court of First Instance has already ruled in favor.
“We would have liked our MEP colleagues to look into real and proven cases of human rights violations in other countries in the European neighborhood instead of focusing on a single partner country and first-class European neighbor that is the Kingdom of Morocco and which has made very notable advances in the field of human rights confirmed by the UN Human Rights Council, the American State Department, the European human rights bodies “Man and others”, he further specified in this letter.
In this sense, he underlined that Algeria is, without a doubt, shirking its obligations and commitments in terms of human rights and persists in human rights violations and the pursuit of repression against activists. of Hirak, journalists, and voices who criticize the regime, considering that all these cases of clear violation of human rights in Algeria have been reported by all the European and world press.
“MEPs keep a mysterious silence on this catastrophic human rights situation in Algeria. A flagrant example of double standards,” he lamented.
“Finally, we affirm that the protection and promotion of human rights are constant and irreversible choices for the Kingdom of Morocco, which will always defend the strengthening of its adherence to the United Nations mechanisms for human rights and women’s rights in particular. “, concluded Mr. Haddad.
