At the opening of the hearing before the court of Rabat, the crowd was such that the security forces filtered the access of the building. The trial of a young Moroccan journalist for "illegal abortion" and "debauchery" mobilized several people in front of the building on Monday 9 September, according to an AFP journalist on the spot, who was not allowed to attend debates.

The case has aroused in recent days an indignant debate in the media and on social networks, with questions about individual freedoms in Morocco, the right of women to dispose of their bodies, respect for privacy and the independence of the press, all of which amount to accusing the authorities of harassment.

Hajar Raissouni, 28, a reporter for the Arabic-language daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum, faces up to two years in prison under the Moroccan Penal Code, which punishes non-marital sex and abortion when the mother's life is not in danger.

Support messages

Denouncing a "political affair", the young woman, who was detained after her arrest on August 31 in front of a medical office in Rabat, claims to have been treated for internal bleeding.

The public prosecutor's office in Rabat assures that his arrest "has nothing to do with his profession as a journalist", but he intervened in the context of a more comprehensive judicial inquiry into the medical office.

Hajar Raissouni was arrested at the same time as her fiancé, a Sudanese academic she was to marry this week. The attending physician, a nurse and a secretary were also arrested and placed in preventive detention.

Feminists and human rights defenders called for their release in different messages of support.

"Freedom for Hajar", "Our society is in danger", chanted the demonstrators before the opening of the trial.

"My body is my freedom", "no to the criminalization of sexual relations between consenting adults", "the laws are silent any opposition", could read on the placards.

"Discriminatory Laws"

In Morocco, arrests in abortion cases generally concern practitioners but very rarely patients, according to a statement from Human Rights Watch (HRW).

"What happens to Hajar Raissouni is the barbouzerie, (and) not the criminal code," told AFP journalist Omar Radi, calling to "stand up against this political power that uses all means to silence people, and especially the most immoral and reprehensible means. "

"We are here to denounce the discriminatory laws" and "support Hajar Raissouni," said Samira Muheya, vice president of the Federation of Women's Rights Leagues (FLDF). "The decision to abort is a personal decision," she said.

In 2018, Moroccan justice sued 14,503 people for "debauchery", 3,048 for "adultery", 170 for "homosexuality" and 73 for "abortion", according to official figures. Between 600 and 800 clandestine abortions are performed daily in Morocco, according to estimates of associations.

With AFP