Arrested on August 31 as she was leaving a clinic in Rabat with her partner, Hajar Raïssouni has become the symbol of the fight for individual freedoms and press freedom. On the dock, it is not just the journalist. We also find the young woman’s Sudanese partner, the gynecologist, the anesthetist and the medical secretary who were also arrested and prosecuted for complicity in clandestine abortion.
The legal proceedings for "debauchery" and "clandestine abortion" against Hajar Raïssouni , a 28-year-old journalist for the Arabic-language daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum, reflect the persistence of outdated legislation and the use of women as scapegoats in a country that claims to be modern. For the French newspaper Le Monde, the call of 470 Moroccans for the repeal of laws against abortion and extramarital sex is timely.
Journalist Hajar Raïssouni, prosecuted with her partner for "illegal abortion" and "sexual relations outside marriage", will remain in detention until September 19, pending the decision of the Court of First Instance of Rabat, which must rule on the new request for release filed by her lawyers.
The establishment of a "serene and structured internal dialogue" on the issue of individual freedoms. This is the call launched by the elected member of the Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Amina Mae El Aïnine on her Facebook page. This is in reaction to the opening, on Monday, September 9, of the trial of journalist Hajar Raïssouni prosecuted for illegal abortion and extramarital relations.
The lawyer of journalist Hajar Raissouni , imprisoned for abortion, has just denounced the "deliberate lie" of the doctor who, in his report, had confirmed that there had been a voluntary termination of pregnancy. According to him, the doctor in question cannot claim such a conclusion since he had never examined the journalist.
Following the information widely disseminated on social networks stating that the proceedings instituted against the journalist Hajar Raissouni, the Prosecutor of the King near the Court of First Instance of Rabat clarifies.
Detained since August 31 for an "abortion" and "illegal sexual relations", the Akhbar Al Yaoum journalist Hajar Raissouni, announced through her counsel that she will file a complaint against the police for torture "following the forced medical examination she underwent for the sole purpose of forcing her to confess to acts she did not commit," her lawyer said in a statement.
Following the many rumors surrounding the arrest of Hajar Raissouni, a journalist from Akhbar Al Yaoum, the National Union of the Moroccan Press (SNPM) broke its silence, condemning certain biased articles published in certain media, and calling for respect for the presumption of innocence and the ethics of the profession.
The journalist at the daily Akhbar Al Yaoum, Hajar Raissouni, was taken into custody by the judicial police elements on Saturday, August 31, for a dark affair of corruption, clandestine abortion and extramarital sex.
Based on the Annual Report on Criminal Policy of the Attorney General, the Spanish news agency, EFE, indicates that 3,048 people were prosecuted for "adultery offense" in Morocco in 2018. In addition, 170 people had to deal with justice, for homosexuality and 73 others for abortion.
In Morocco, terminations of pregnancy are punishable by imprisonment. As proof, six people are currently on trial in Marrakech for clandestine abortions.
The practice of clandestine abortion is becoming more and more frequent in Marrakech. Last Friday, 3 doctors and an airline pilot, involved in several cases of clandestine abortion, were arrested and referred to the public prosecutor’s office.