Moroccan journalist jailed after being accused of sex outside marriage and having an abortion is pardoned by the king after her case sparked outrage
- Moroccan journalist pardoned following backlash to her arrest & imprisonment
- Hajar Raissouni, 28, was accused of premarital sex and of having an abortion
- King Mohammed VI on Wednesday issued a royal pardon for the journalist
- Her supporters suspect she was targeted due to her reporting
A Moroccan journalist who was jailed after being accused of sex outside marriage and having an abortion has been pardoned by the king after her case sparked outrage.
King Mohammed VI on Wednesday issued a royal pardon for Hajar Raissouni, overturning a court sentence for an ‘illegal abortion’ and sexual relations outside marriage, the justice ministry said.
The 28-year-old will walk free ‘in the coming hours’, while sentences handed down to her fiance, gynaecologist, anaesthetist and a medical assistant were also overturned, an official said.
Demonstrators, including prominent activists and journalists, protest in front of Parliament in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, October 2, to demand the release of jailed journalist Haja Raissouni
28-year-old Raissouni has previously denied she had an abortion and claimed she was married to her Sudanese fiancé under Islamic law
Raissouni (pictured) was arrested along with her fiancé as they left a gynaecologist’s clinic in the capital Rabat in August
28-year-old Raissouni has previously denied she had an abortion and claimed she was married to her Sudanese fiancé under Islamic law.
Raissouni was arrested along with her fiancé as they left a gynaecologist’s clinic in the capital Rabat in August. She said she had been seeking treatment for internal bleeding.
She was sentenced to a year in prison on September 30. Her gynaecologist was sentenced to two years and her Sudanese fiance one year in prison, while an anaesthetist was handed a one-year suspended sentence and a medical assistant eight months, also suspended.
While in custody, Raissouni said she was mostly interrogated about her work as a journalist at an independent newspaper.
Raissouni’s arrest triggered a nationwide debate on civil liberties in Morocco. Her supporters suspect she was targeted for prosecution because of her reporting.
Demonstrators, including prominent activists and journalists, demonstrate with a placerd reading “Free Hajar Raissouni” in front of Parliament in Rabat, Morocco, Wednesday, October 2