Morocco’s Supreme Court expressed its utmost refusal to allow the EU parliament to “intervene” in the country’s legal system.
Rabat - The Moroccan Superior Council of the Judicial Authority (CSPJ) has joined the chorus denouncing the European Parliament’s latest hostile resolution against Morocco.
On Saturday, CSPJ issued a statement rejecting “strong” and “unfounded” allegations contained in the resolution of the European Parliament (EP) of January 19, 2023.
On Thursday, the European Parliament voted on a resolution containing a hostile text against Morocco, interfering in the country’s judiciary system.
The resolution on the “situation of journalists in Morocco, notably the case of Omar Radi,” particularly accuses the North African country of “harassing and intimidating journalists, human rights defenders, and diaspora activists.”
Police arrested Radi in July 2020 after his colleague Hafsa Boutahar from Moroccan news outlet LeDesk filed a complaint against him accusing him of “rape and sexual assault.”
Of the parliament members (MEPs), 356 voted in favor of the resolution, 32 voted against it, while roughly 42 MEPs abstained from the vote.
Several Moroccan institutions responded to the content of the resolution, condemning the European Parliament’s interference in the country’s judiciary.
Taking note of the parliament’s resolution, the Moroccan council said the text contains “serious accusations and allegations that undermine the independence of the Moroccan judiciary.”
Referencing cases of journalists detained for different charges, the court said that the “unsubstantiated allegations distort facts” and cast doubt over the legitimacy of the country’s judicial procedures.
“The Council strongly decries the call included in the resolution to put pressure on the judicial authority to immediately release the individuals it mentioned,” the statement reads.
In addition, the statement considered the resolution a “dangerous violation of the independence of justice and an attempt to influence the judicial authority, especially that some of the cases are still under court scrutiny.”
The court emphasized that journalists who were subject to trials have benefited from all guarantees of “fair trial in accordance with the law, including the presumption of innocence” and right to defense.
A larger campaign
The vote by MEPs came as part of a hostile approach, that sought to politicize and interfere in Morocco’s affairs to challenge the country’s interests and diplomatic gains within and beyond the EU.
Observers have questioned the motive behind the anti-Morocco votes, stressing that some MEPs voted in favor of the resolution to maintain their positions within the European Parliament.
Morocco is one of the major allies of the European Union. The North African country is the EU’s 20th biggest trade partner, representing 1% of the EU’s total trade in goods in the world in 2020.
The EU-Morocco trade deals include fisheries and agriculture, which have been targeted by pro-Polisario supporters within EU institutions, including the European Parliament.
Polisario - an Algeria-backed separatist militia claiming independence in Western Sahara -- has campaigned for years to convince the EU to end its fisheries and agriculture agreements with Morocco.
Ignoring victims’ rights
The CSPJ also expressed astonishment at the lack of support from the EU resolution for the victims, who were subject to sexual assault or rape.
Cases related to human trafficking, sexual abuse, and the exploitation of other persons’ vulnerability are severely punished by law all over the world, the statement stressed.
Boutahar, the victim who filed a complaint against Radi, echoed a similar statement following the backlash and criticism she received after Radi’s arrest.
In 2021, Boutahar condemned the lack of support and solidarity from NGOs, accusing some of them of leaking information about her complaint.
She argued that slogans and values promoted by some NGOs are “nothing but words and were easily forgotten” during her case. “I felt unprotected," she said.
Radi, who received a sentence of six years in prison, denied all accusations, saying that his relations with Boutahar were “consensual.”
Chairman of the Morocco-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Lahcen Haddad agreed with the CSPJ’s statement regarding the victims’ right to speak up about sexual assault crimes.
Radi’s arrest and sentencing have nothing to do with freedom of expression but “consist of rape and indecent assault committed against a colleague in the workplace,” Haddad said recently.
He also called on members of the European Parliament to investigate “real and proven cases of human rights violations in other countries of the European neighborhood instead of focusing on Morocco.”
Morocco’s National Press Council and Morocco’s Magistrates also condemned the EU parliament decision on Morocco, refusing the EU bloc’s interference in the country’s judicial system.
The Moroccan Parliament is set to hold a plenary session over the EU Parliament resolution on Monday.
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