Morocco’s King Mohammed VI Moroccan journalist Rachid Nini is to be released in the second round of the Moroccan king’s pardon of jailed Islamists leaders and leftists in the next week, according to media sources, as Justice Minister Mustafa Ramid said the royal pardons included critics of the authorities who had been unfairly jailed.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI issued pardons to several leading Islamists who rights groups say were unfairly jailed. It is believed that Morocco’s most famous journalist is among the 458 convicts that were granted the royal pardon.
Royal pardons are customary each year to coincide with the Muslim holiday of Mawlid, the birthday of the Prophet Mohammad which fell this weekend, but it is unusual for the monarch to pardon such high-profile detainees.
“The royal pardon granted by HM King Mohammed VI, on the occasion of Eid Al Mawlid Annabaoui, has a particular dimension since it takes place after the adoption of the new constitution, the legislative elections and the formation of a new government,” Justice Minister Mustapha Ramid said.
The royal pardon’s peculiarity lies in the fact that it benefited the members of what is called “the Salafiya Jihadia”, Ramid told Morocco’s news agency MAP on Saturday.
They are Hassan Kettani, Abdelouahab Rafiki and Omar Haddouchi, he said, underlining that the royal initiative shows that the State, while being firm as far as security is concerned, lends a helping hand through the royal pardon to benefit inmates who are ready to get positively involved in the public life, away from any extremism.
“I am glad that HM the King responded to the request of his justice minister, all the more so because the pardon was also granted to activists of the unified socialist left namely Seddik Kabbourin and his companions,” he said.
Meanwhile, media sources stated that Rachid Nini, the founder of Al Massae newspaper will be released in the royal pardon next week.
Nini was convicted by the Casablanca Court of First Instance on June 9 for having “gravely offended” public officials, "accusing public officials of violating the law without providing proof and offending the judiciary or discrediting its rulings or trying to influence the courts”.
He was sentenced to one year in prison and was fined 1,000 dirhams (US$120). The sentence and verdict were appealed by Nini’s lawyers, but the court upheld the ruling.