A court in Morocco has sentenced
journalist Hajar Raissouni to a year in
jail for having had an “illegal” abortion
and sexual relations outside of
marriage.
The 28-year-old’s Sudanese fiance and
gynaecologist on Monday were also
handed one and two-year jail sentences,
respectively, while an anaesthetist and
medical assistance were given
suspended sentences of a year and
eight months, also respectively.
Raissouni was arrested on August 31 as
she left a clinic in the capital, Rabat,
where her lawyer Saad Sahli said she
had been undergoing treatment for
internal bleeding.
But the prosecution insisted she
showed signs of pregnancy and of
having undergone a “late voluntary
abortion”.
But lawyers for Raissouni, who works
for Akhbar Al-Yaoum – an Arabic daily
with a history of run-ins with
authorities – said she was being framed
for a crime she did not commit.
“This trial had no foundation – the
accusations were baseless,” defence
lawyer Abdelmoula El Marouri said
after the verdict.
Raissouni was sentenced under Article
490 of the legal code of the kingdom,
which punishes sexual relations out of
wedlock.
Young-po Reporters 