Responding to the opening today of the trial of journalist Hanane Bakour, who faces up to three years in prison and a fine after being accused of “publishing fake news by using electronic means that harm private life” for a Facebook post criticizing the ruling party’s handling of a local election, Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “It is shocking, heavy‑handed and absurd that a journalist faces criminal charges over a Facebook post that was critical of Morocco’s main political party. Hanane Bakour has a right to her opinions, even if politicians object to them. Morocco is increasingly showing its intolerance of criticism of the political system. These trumped‑up charges against Hanane should be dismissed immediately and the case against her dropped.”
Bakour’s trial is expected to begin today at the Tribunal of First Instance in Sale, a city in northern Morocco. The charges stem from a complaint filed by the ruling National Rally of Independents (RNI) in September 2021. Bakour had posted that the election of the new president of the party council in the Guelmim‑Oued Noun region was flawed because an RNI member had been critically wounded by a gunshot at his house. She is being tried while free.
Hanane Bakour has been a journalist for 17 years, working for several Moroccan outlets including Akhbar Al Youm, Al Massae and Al Jarida Al Oukhra. Until 2021, she served as editor‑in‑chief of the online website alyaoum24.com.
According to international standards, any limitation on the right to freedom of expression must be provided by a clear and precise law and be necessary and proportionate to protect a legitimate aim such as national security, public order, public health, or morals. Broad and vaguely worded restrictions, such as “fake news,” fail this test and can criminalize legitimate expression protected by national and international human rights law. The silencing of both online and offline speech is part of an ongoing crackdown on dissent in Morocco. In 2022 alone, Moroccan authorities investigated, prosecuted, and imprisoned at least seven journalists and activists for criticizing the government, as well as individuals who spoke online about religion or expressed solidarity with activists.
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