The Moroccan justice confirmed on appeal on Tuesday night a harsh prison sentence for an Internet user accused of “undermining the Islamic religion” after having posted on Facebook writings considered offensive, we learned from the defense.
“The Khouribga Court of Appeal sentenced Fatima Karim to two years in prison, confirming the first instance sentence,” said her lawyer, Me Habib Aadi. “It’s a very harsh sentence,” he added, adding that the appeal “is still under study.”
Detained since mid-July, Fatima Karim, 39, was prosecuted for having satirically commented on her Facebook page in Arabic on verses from the Koran and hadiths of the Prophet Muhammad, considered sacred in the Muslim tradition.
The Moroccan Internet user was sentenced on August 15 to two years in prison for “electronic attack on religion” by the court of first instance in Oued Zem, 150 km from the megalopolis of Casablanca.
Apologies to ‘anyone who was offended’
The appeal trial opened on September 6 before being immediately adjourned so that the accused could appear in court. Before the court of first instance, he asserted his right to freedom of expression, guaranteed by the Moroccan Constitution.
He had also publicly apologized to “anyone who felt offended” by his posts, saying he had never intended to undermine Islam, the state religion in Morocco.
The process was initiated by the prosecution. Article 267-5 of the Moroccan Penal Code, under which Fatima Karim was convicted, punishes “anyone who undermines the Muslim religion” with six months to two years in prison.
The sentence is likely to be increased to five years in prison if the crime is committed in public, “including by electronic means”.
Human rights defenders denounce this text of the law that violates freedom of expression and whose wording “does not specifically specify the facts that could constitute an attack.”
Source: BFM TV
