Interview with Ignacio Cembrero: "I thought that the PSOE defended Human Rights. Their vote against Morocco is a shame"

• EU The PSOE is left alone and breaks the unity of its group in the European Parliament by voting against a resolution critical of Morocco

«I thought that social democracy was deeply committed to the defense of Human Rights.

I have verified that it is not.

I think it's a real shame."

This is how the journalist

responds to the Spanish socialist MEPs who voted against the resolution that the European Parliament approved last Thursday and in which the Moroccan authorities were urged to "respect freedom of expression and press, and guarantee imprisoned to a fair trial" among other issues.

The resolution expressly cites Cembrero as an example of the informers who "have been under digital surveillance, have been intimidated and harassed in court."

The veteran Spanish journalist is awaiting sentencing after being tried on January 13 accused by the Kingdom of Morocco for publishing that he was one of the people they spied on through the

program .

It is the fourth time that the Moroccan authorities have taken him to court for information about him and in the three previous ones he has emerged victorious.

On the reasons that have led the

to vote en bloc against the text, aligning themselves with the far-right group

Cembrero replies: "Without a doubt, to preserve the summit [the Spain-Morocco bilateral meeting which is scheduled to be held on February 1 and 2 in Rabat], to preserve the opening of customs in Ceuta and Melilla, which we will see in what conditions they are carried out, and in general to prevent Morocco from creating problems, starting with the immigration problem , a tool that he has frequently used to exert pressure on Spain.

Among Spanish Socialists, only

, who chairs the European Social Democratic group, voted in favor of the resolution.

Ignacio Cembrero believes that this movement against the current is aimed at "preserving his seat in the European Parliament."

The journalist does not understand the answer that Pedro Sánchez gave when asked about the matter during the Barcelona summit.

"It is a resolution, I speak as PSOE general secretary, that we have not shared in some of its elements," he declared.

«First, it is not very well understood why the European socialist group chaired by a Spanish woman, Iratxe García, gave its approval on Wednesday to the consensus resolution, agreed upon by all the groups.

And two, if there were aspects that they did not share, why didn't the Spanish Socialists present an amendment on Thursday morning before the vote? ”, Cembrero wonders.

Moroccan diplomatic pressures

The journalist is aware that in the days prior to the vote there was pressure "from Moroccan diplomacy and the Moroccan political class to try, firstly, to prevent the resolution from going ahead and, secondly, when they realized that it was inevitable, to dilute it as much as possible».

Cembrero, who has been reporting on Morocco and the Maghreb for 20 years, has worked for

and

and currently writes for

, was denounced before the

by the Moroccan government in 2014 for glorifying terrorism after publishing in his blog an

video

dedicated to Morocco.

"The Prosecutor's Office filed it in May 2014 and then they filed a complaint against me in July 2014 at the National Court," he explains.

The complaint was also filed.

A year later, in 2015, the businessman from the Moroccan press

, whom Cembrero links to the Moroccan secret services, filed a civil lawsuit for interference with honor for the information published in this newspaper in which he revealed that Charai spread the hoax. which attributed to

the paternity of the daughter of

, then French Minister of Justice.

The case was also dismissed.

Now they have sued him again for "bragging action" - "a kind of medieval loophole that remains in the Spanish

, out of use," he says - for stating that he had been monitored through

.

Cembrero's mobile number was among the targets of Moroccan espionage, according to an investigation by the

journalistic consortium .

Shortly before this revelation,

, director of

, wrote a column "in which he reproduced two of my WhatsApp messages exchanged days before with members of the Spanish Government," explains Cembrero.

After this last demand, he has received the public support of Cs, Compromís, Bildu and Podemos.

«And private messages of support from some representatives of the PP.

The PSOE has turned its back on me, even in private, "she says, with the exception of two Socialists who have sent him their support.

"The members of the Government who have written to me have been to tell me:" Look, you have accused Morocco of a crime. Morocco has the right to defend itself. Trust in Justice "".

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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