Human rights activist Rida Benotmane released after 18 months in prison in Morocco
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Name(s):
Rida Benotmane
Status:
Free
Year of birth:
1976
Profession:
Journalist and human rights defender, member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) and the association “Freedom Now”
Nationality:
Moroccan
Date of arrest:
Rida Benotmane is a journalist and human rights defender. He was arrested on September 9, 2022 after issuing several statements on Facebook and YouTube in 2021. He was charged the next day with “contempt of a body regulated by law”, “contempt of public officials in the performance of their duties” and “dissemination and distribution of false allegations without consent”. He was also accused of violating the decree on the state of health emergency. He was sentenced to three years in prison by the Court of First Instance in Rabat on November 7, 2022. He was released on March 9, 2024 after serving his full prison sentence, the Rabat Court of Appeal having reduced his prison sentence by half in February 2023.
Between 2007 and 2011, Rida Benotmane was first detained after being convicted on appeal for “apology of terrorism” and “offence to the person of the king”. According to Human Rights Watch, he was arrested on January 20, 2007 and questioned on comments that he posted online, rather than his implication in any alleged terrorist network or acts.
Benotmane was arrested again on September 9, 2022, after responding to a summons from the National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ) in Casablanca. He was then immediately placed in police custody.
While in custody, he was not able to contact his relatives. He was also questioned without the presence of his lawyer. More specifically, he was questioned about a Facebook post on September 13, 2021, now deleted, which called for a public march against human rights abuses by the security forces.
The police also questioned him about two YouTube videos posted on August 5 and 24, 2021, in which he denounced the fact that the population's demands for social justice were not being met and warned about the possible use of the COVID-19 vaccination pass as a tool of repression.
On September 10, 2022, he was brought before the prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Rabat. At this hearing, he was accompanied by a lawyer, although the latter was not able to advise him nor intervene on his behalf.
On that day, Benotmane was charged with “insulting a body regulated by law”, “insulting public officials in the exercise of their duties” and “disseminating and distributing false allegations without consent”, under articles 265, 263, 266 and 447(2) of the Penal Code, respectively. He was also charged with violating Article 4 of the Decree on the State of Health Emergency. He was not allowed to obtain a copy of the indictment. Benotmane was then remanded to Laarjat 1 prison where he remains to this day.
His trial began remotely on September 12, 2022 before the Court of First Instance in Rabat. At a second hearing on September 22, his lawyer submitted a request for provisional release while challenging the legality of his client's detention.
During the hearings, he explained that his comments on YouTube and Facebook were a matter of freedom of opinion and did not involve any excess. On October 17 and 31, 2022, the court heard the prosecution’s and the defense’s case.
On November 7, 2022, Benotmane was sentenced by the Court of First Instance in Rabat to three years in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams. The verdict was pronounced without the presence of the accused. His family, the defence and NGO observers did not attend the announcement of the verdict and were therefore unable to provide a report of the hearing. The verdict reveals that the proceedings focused exclusively on Benotmane’s online statements.
His lawyer has filed an appeal. The date for his appeal had been set for January 16, 2023. However, his appeal before the Rabat Court of Appeal was then postponed to January 30, 2023.
Affirming that Benotmane’s detention stems from the exercise of his right to freedom of expression protected under article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), MENA Rights Group and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) sent an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on January 30, 2023.
He was released on March 9, 2024 after serving his full prison sentence, the Rabat Court of Appeal having reduced his prison term by half in February 2023.
| Name(s): |
Rida Benotmane
|
| Status: |
Free
|
| Year of birth: |
1976
|
| Profession: |
Journalist and human rights defender, member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) and the association “Freedom Now”
|
| Nationality: |
Moroccan
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Between 2007 and 2011, Rida Benotmane was first detained after being convicted on appeal for “apology of terrorism” and “offence to the person of the king”. According to Human Rights Watch, he was arrested on January 20, 2007 and questioned on comments that he posted online, rather than his implication in any alleged terrorist network or acts.
Benotmane was arrested again on September 9, 2022, after responding to a summons from the National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ) in Casablanca. He was then immediately placed in police custody.
While in custody, he was not able to contact his relatives. He was also questioned without the presence of his lawyer. More specifically, he was questioned about a Facebook post on September 13, 2021, now deleted, which called for a public march against human rights abuses by the security forces.
The police also questioned him about two YouTube videos posted on August 5 and 24, 2021, in which he denounced the fact that the population's demands for social justice were not being met and warned about the possible use of the COVID-19 vaccination pass as a tool of repression.
On September 10, 2022, he was brought before the prosecutor at the Court of First Instance in Rabat. At this hearing, he was accompanied by a lawyer, although the latter was not able to advise him nor intervene on his behalf.
On that day, Benotmane was charged with “insulting a body regulated by law”, “insulting public officials in the exercise of their duties” and “disseminating and distributing false allegations without consent”, under articles 265, 263, 266 and 447(2) of the Penal Code, respectively. He was also charged with violating Article 4 of the Decree on the State of Health Emergency. He was not allowed to obtain a copy of the indictment. Benotmane was then remanded to Laarjat 1 prison where he remains to this day.
His trial began remotely on September 12, 2022 before the Court of First Instance in Rabat. At a second hearing on September 22, his lawyer submitted a request for provisional release while challenging the legality of his client's detention.
During the hearings, he explained that his comments on YouTube and Facebook were a matter of freedom of opinion and did not involve any excess. On October 17 and 31, 2022, the court heard the prosecution’s and the defense’s case.
On November 7, 2022, Benotmane was sentenced by the Court of First Instance in Rabat to three years in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams. The verdict was pronounced without the presence of the accused. His family, the defence and NGO observers did not attend the announcement of the verdict and were therefore unable to provide a report of the hearing. The verdict reveals that the proceedings focused exclusively on Benotmane’s online statements.
His lawyer has filed an appeal. The date for his appeal had been set for January 16, 2023. However, his appeal before the Rabat Court of Appeal was then postponed to January 30, 2023.
Affirming that Benotmane’s detention stems from the exercise of his right to freedom of expression protected under article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), MENA Rights Group and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) sent an urgent appeal to the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Opinion and Expression and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on January 30, 2023.
He was released on March 9, 2024 after serving his full prison sentence, the Rabat Court of Appeal having reduced his prison term by half in February 2023.