Morocco arrests former human rights minister

RABAT - Moroccan authorities on Monday arrested former human rights minister and lawyer Mohammed Ziane, the same day an appeals court upheld an initial judgment of three years' imprisonment, the prosecutor's office in Rabat said.

Human rights advocates had contested the charges against Ziane, who is also the founder of the Moroccan Liberal Party.

He was found guilty of charges including insulting and attempting to influence the judiciary, instigating people to violate measures to contain COVID-19 using social media, contempt of institutions, adultery, sexual harassment and setting a bad example for children, the prosecutor's office said in a statement.

A national body of rights activists defending prisoners of conscience said in a statement on Monday that it was “extremely shocked at the arbitrary arrest” of Ziane, who is also a former head of the Bar Association.

Ziane was an outspoken critic of Moroccan public authorities and has defended many journalists taken to court in what human rights advocates have called trumped-up charges.