The fate of Morocco's Hajar Raissouni mobilizes human rights organizations. Several of them called Friday, September 6 for the immediate release of this young journalist. She has been arrested in Morocco for "illegal abortion", which she denies, while messages of support are multiplying on social networks.
"Instead of intimidating Hajar Raissouni by pursuing her on unfair charges, the authorities should release her immediately and unconditionally," said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International's regional director, in a statement.
"To violate his right to privacy and criminalize individual freedom is unacceptable," said Ahmed Benchemsi, regional director of Human Rights Watch. "Let's add here suspicions of political coup bas as the accused is a reporter in one of the last independent newspapers in Morocco," he continues.
Hajar Raissouni, a 28-year-old journalist with the Arabic-language daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum, was arrested on Saturday by six policemen out of a medical office in Rabat and subjected to a medical report she is challenging.
"Political Affair"
She was detained pending her trial on Monday for "illegal abortion" and "non-marital sex". Her fiancé, whom she was supposed to marry in mid-September, according to her family, was arrested along with her, as well as the attending physician, a nurse and a secretary.
On Wednesday, the public prosecutor of the King of Rabat detailed in a statement the medical evidence confirming his "signs of pregnancy" and his "voluntary voluntary abortion".
The journalist denounces "fabricated accusations" and a "political case" related to his articles, according to his relatives.
The fate of Hajar Raissouni outrageous for several days on social networks, with reactions around the right to privacy, individual freedoms or the right of women to dispose of their bodies. Some 150 journalists signed a solidarity petition denouncing "defamatory campaigns" aimed at destroying their sister.
Moroccan law punishes voluntary abortion (abortion) from six months to five years in prison except when the health of the mother is in danger. From 600 to 800 clandestine abortions are practiced every day in Morocco, according to the associations militant for its legalization.
With AFP