(Rabat) The Moroccan government learned, on Wednesday, that a Moroccan court had sentenced to three and a half years in prison for “assaulting the Islamic religion” after it published satirical rulings imitating verses from the Holy Qur’an on Facebook. his family.
Arrested in mid-June at Rabat airport upon arrival from France where she is studying, the 23-year-old “did not know” that she was the subject of an arrest warrant, indicated her father, who requested anonymity and who did not wish to be. reveal his daughter’s name.
He said that in April 2019 she posted on Facebook an Arabic text imitating an excerpt from the Qur’an “without knowing the purpose, because she is not fluent in Arabic,” he said.
Denounced by a religious association
The proceedings began after a complaint was filed by a religious association in Marrakesh. The young woman was sentenced, on Monday, to three and a half years in prison, and a fine of 5,000 euros, for “assaulting the Islamic religion,” according to the same source.
I visited her today, and she’s totally devastated, and they ruined her future. What are the rights established by these guardians of religion?
Young’s father والد
The family appealed the ruling.
In the Moroccan Penal Code
Article 267 of the Moroccan Penal Code punishes “anyone who violates the Islamic religion” with imprisonment from six months to two years. The penalty increases to five years if the crime is committed in public, “including electronically”.
The law also punishes any “assault on the monarchy” and incitement to “undermine the territorial integrity.” Human rights defenders deplore this provision because, among other reasons, the wording of the articles of the law “does not specifically specify the facts that could constitute a violation.”
