Rabat – The Court of First Instance in Rabat has sentenced journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui to one and a half years in prison in the defamation case against Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi.
The Moroccan journalist will also pay civil compensation to the justice minister. The compensation is estimated at $151,155.
The verdict comes following a lawsuit filed by the justice minister in October, in which Ouahabi accused Madhaoui of “disseminating and distributing false allegations and facts to harm the reputation of individuals as well as defamation and public insults,” citing articles 443, 444, and 446 of the Moroccan penal code.
The defamation incident in question refers to a series of recent remarks that the journalist has been making against Ouahabi that have been published on multiple online platforms.
In his lawsuit terms, Ouahbi requested a financial compensation of MAD 10 million ($1 million) and the maximum prison sentence against El Mahdaoui. The defense also called for an audit of El Mahdaoui’s YouTube channel earnings.
The audits sought to convert the earnings for episodes related to the complaint, converging reports said.
Mehdaoui has already served a sentence of three years.
He was arrested in July of 2017 following a speech he gave in Al Hoceima, encouraging activists to join protests that were deemed unauthorized.
The protesters were part of the social movement called “Hirak Rife,” after the death of a local fishmonger in October 2016.
He was sentenced to three years for “inciting participation in banned protest” and “threatening national security” in June of 2018.
Mahdaoui was released from prison in 2020.
