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A Moroccan court sentenced Islamist activist Mohamed Boustati to one year in prison yesterday, finding him guilty of “defamation” over Facebook posts criticising Arab states’ stance on the genocide in Gaza, which were deemed offensive to Saudi Arabia, said his lawyer.
Boustati, a member of the banned but tolerated Al Adl Wal Ihssane movement, has been in detention since late February. His lawyer, Mohamed Nouini, told AFP that the posts led to a complaint from Saudi intelligence, alleging that they insulted “Saudi institutions and figures.”
Nouini said that the posts included criticism of Arab governments’ positions on the Gaza conflict and normalisation with Israel but did not provide specifics. Boustati denied authoring some of the content, claiming that his Facebook account had been hacked.
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Despite the defence, the court in Khouribga, near Casablanca, ruled the posts to be “defamatory”. Nouini argued that Boustati “should have been sentenced under the Press Code, which does not provide for custodial sentences,” calling the verdict “harsh.”
Earlier this month, another member of Al Adl Wal Ihssane, Redouane El Kastit, received a two-year sentence for “incitement to hatred” over Facebook posts allegedly praising a stabbing operation in Israel. El Kastit was arrested last month and charged after 15 posts on Facebook. According to the prosecution, the posts described a late-January stabbing of five people in Tel Aviv as the start of a “blessed racist campaign.”
He was also accused of posting a photo of the attacker and praising his Moroccan identity. “The court considered this an endorsement of a terrorist act,” said his lawyer, adding that he will also be appealing against the “harsh” ruling.
Al Adl Wal Ihssane is widely considered to be Morocco’s largest Islamist group and is a vocal supporter of the Palestinian resistance against the occupation state.
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