Moroccan ex-minister and critic of government sentenced to 5 years

Mohamed Ziane, the former Moroccan Minister of Human Rights, was sentenced last week to five years in prison on July 19th 2024 in a corruption case that his attorney described as retribution for his outspoken nature and his work defending political prisoners.

The appeals court in Rabat handed down the sentence after a hearing in which the frail 81-year-old Ziane, once known for his loud and combative rhetoric, remained silent as a form of protest.

The court had earlier found Ziane and two colleagues guilty of corruption and embezzling funds from their political party during Morocco’s 2015 election campaign.

Ziane’s attorney, Ali Reda Ziane, who is also his son, vehemently denied the charges against his father and his colleagues. He criticized the court for not adhering to standard procedures throughout the case and its appeals, all 17 of which the defense lost.

He also suggested that the proceedings were linked to his father’s defense of journalists and activists who had been charged with unrelated offenses after criticizing the government. “This means freedom of expression has been curtailed in Morocco,” Ali Reda Ziane told The Associated Press on Monday.

Background on Mohamed Ziane

Mohamed Ziane is a prominent Moroccan lawyer and politician who is currently imprisoned in Salé. Ziane served as an MP for the Constitutional Party from the 1980s until 1995. He was appointed Minister-Delegate for Human Rights between 1996 and 1997.

In 2001, Ziane founded the Moroccan Liberal Party and has served as its National Coordinator ever since. His political career has been marked by his fierce advocacy for human rights and his defense of political prisoners, journalists, and activists.

In February 2022, following a clash with Abdellatif Hammouchi, the Director of the Moroccan Police and head of the Moroccan internal intelligence agency, DGST, Ziane was sentenced to three years in prison on multiple charges. These charges included making disrespectful declarations against Hammouchi and the Moroccan state’s administration and judiciary. The execution of the sentence was initially suspended by appeal but later confirmed by a court of appeal.