The long-awaited hearing finally did not take place. While several hundred people gathered in front of the court in Rabat on Monday (September 9th) to lend their support to journalist Hajar Raissouni, 28, Moroccan justice finally decided to postpone her trial for "illegal abortion". The date is 16 September.

Lawyers for the Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Al-Yaoum have argued at length for his release before a full house but the court rejected the request after deliberating for several hours.

Up to two years in prison

Hajar Raissouni, also prosecuted for "debauchery" (sex outside marriage), faces up to two years in prison. In Morocco, the penal code sanctions abortion when the life of the mother is not in danger.

Arrested and tried at the same time she, her fiance, the attending physician, a nurse and a medical secretary will also remain in prison until the next hearing, according to defense lawyers.

In recent days, the case has provoked 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, the respect of private life or the independence of the press, all of which amount to accusing the authorities of harassment.

"A political affair", according to Hajar Raissouni

For her part, the journalist, in detention since her arrest on August 31 in front of a medical office in Rabat, denounces a "political affair" and claims to have been treated for internal bleeding. "We arrested her, we put her in detention and then we looked for evidence of a possible abortion, the file is empty," slice his lawyer, Saad Sahli.

The public prosecutor's office in Rabat assures that the arrest "has nothing to do with his profession of journalist" but intervened in the context of a more comprehensive judicial investigation aimed at the medical office.

Since his arrest, feminists and human rights defenders have called for his release in various messages of support. In Morocco, arrests in abortion cases generally concern practitioners and very rarely patients, according to a Human Rights Watch (HRW) statement, citing Chafik Chraibi, president of the Moroccan Association Against Abortions illegal immigrants (Amlac).

More than 600 clandestine abortions per day

"The selective way of enforcing the laws in our country ... shows the refusal of the Moroccan state to establish a true rule of law," said businessman Karim Tazi, present at the demonstration.

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