A Moroccan man has been handed a five-year prison sentence for his Facebook posts critiquing the normalization of relations with Israel, as reported by the London-based Al-Quds Al-Arabi newspaper. The court justified the sentence on the grounds that the posts were considered "offensive to the Moroccan monarchy."
The individual in question, Saeed Boukyoud, aged 48, was found guilty of expressing criticism towards the act of normalizing ties with Israel, which the court interpreted as a form of criticism aimed at King Mohammed VI. Lawyer Hassan al-Sunni, representing Boukyoud, stated that his client had received the prison sentence for his online commentary that questioned the normalizing gesture.
Boukyoud's contentious posts were published in December 2020 while he was residing in Qatar, coinciding with Morocco's formalization of diplomatic relations with Israel. Notably, upon learning that he was facing legal action in Morocco, Boukyoud promptly removed the posts and deactivated his Facebook account. His return to Casablanca last week led to his arrest.
Hassan al-Sunni characterized the court's verdict as "cruel and incomprehensible," expressing that Boukyoud had emphasized to the court that his intention was to denounce the normalization rather than to insult the king. This incident brings into focus the intricate balance between freedom of expression and the legal boundaries set by a nation's laws.
