Almost 300 human rights advocates and experts from North Africa and France have signed a petition urging Morocco to overturn the prison sentence of activist Fouad Abdelmoumni, who was convicted of “spreading false allegations” online.
Abdelmoumni, a prominent rights defender, was sentenced to six months in prison in early March over a Facebook post in which he accused Morocco of spying on France.
The petition, which had gathered 295 signatures by Monday, argued that he should have been tried under Morocco’s press code, which does not impose prison terms for such cases, rather than the penal code.
The signatories condemned the ruling as part of a broader “repressive policy” across the region designed to stifle dissent and silence those advocating for freedom of expression, democracy, and human rights. They also called for the release of all political prisoners in Morocco and neighbouring Maghreb countries.
Among the signatories are Rony Brauman, former president of Doctors Without Borders, French-Tunisian historian Sophie Bessis, and Tunisian activists Mokhtar Trifi and Sana Ben Achour.
Abdelmoumni’s Facebook post last year reiterated allegations that Morocco had used spyware to monitor French officials. Prosecutors claimed his statements were “harmful to the kingdom’s interests” and exceeded the limits of free speech, constituting a criminal offence.
His post came at a sensitive time, coinciding with French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to Morocco, which signalled an attempt to mend strained diplomatic relations following accusations that Rabat had used Israeli-made Pegasus spyware to spy on Macron and other prominent figures in 2021.
The espionage claims, first reported by Forbidden Stories and Amnesty International, were dismissed by Morocco as “baseless and false.” The Pegasus spyware, developed by Israeli firm NSO Group, is capable of infiltrating mobile phones, extracting data, and activating cameras remotely.
