The Court of Cassation has confirmed the conviction of Taoufik Bouachrine to 15 years in prison. The former director of the now-defunct daily Akhbar Al-Yaoum had been sentenced on appeal to fifteen years in prison for "human trafficking", "abuse of power for sexual purposes", "rape and attempted rape".
The trial relating to the "sexual assault" involving the journalist Soulaimane Raissouni opened on Tuesday. For the third time, the Court of Appeal of Casablanca postponed it to the hearing of April 15, said Me Mohamed Sadqo, the lawyer for the defense, to AFP.
In a statement published on social networks, several groups defending the rights of the LGBTQ+ community in Morocco expressed their support for Adam Muhammed, who would have been raped by journalist Soulaiman Raïssouni.
Taoufik Bouachrine , in prison for human trafficking and rape, would intend to sell his press group to Moulay Hafid El Alamy, businessman and Minister of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy. The reason is an impending bankruptcy.
Released on October 16 following a royal pardon, Hajar Raïssouni , the journalist of the Arabic-language daily, Akhbar Al-Yaoum, arrested at the end of August, then sentenced at the end of September, for "illegal abortion" and "sexual relations outside marriage", did not hide her distress at this trial that had sparked a wave of outrage.
After the media professionals who had taken the lead by using the services of a lawyer in order to know about this case, it is Amnesty International’s turn to be outraged and call on the Moroccan authorities to "immediately release" Hajar Raïssouni and "drop all charges" against the Akhbar Al Yaoum journalist, "accused of having had an abortion and having had sexual relations outside of marriage".
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.
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.
The Director of the daily newspaper "Akhbar Al Yaoum" has decided to seek a royal pardon, as a last resort in his inextricable case. Taoufik Bouachrine is being prosecuted for human trafficking, rape, violence and sexual harassment.
The criminal chamber of the court of appeal has decided to postpone the decision to release the former editor-in-chief of the newspaper "Akhbar Alyoum" until next week.