Morocco: Stop the renewed judicial repression and online smear attacks on Saida El Alami

Skyline International for Human Rights (SIHR) strongly condemns the renewed arbitrary arrest and ongoing prosecution of prominent woman human rights defender and blogger Saida El Alami by the Moroccan authorities. Her detention is yet another blatant attempt to silence outspoken critics of government abuses, injustice, and corruption, particularly through her social media.

According to local sources, police in Casablanca re-arrested El Alami on July 1, 2025, less than a year after her release under a royal pardon during the 2024 Throne Day amnesty. That pardon, widely seen as a symbolic gesture, freed several journalists and bloggers previously prosecuted simply for exercising their right to free expression. 

Yet once again, no charges were disclosed at the time of her arrest. Instead, her detention was ordered by the Public Prosecutor’s Office at the Ain Sebaa Court of First Instance, leaving her in limbo pending trial. Before being brought before the court, she was interrogated by the National Brigade of the Judicial Police, in a clear sign of the political sensitivities driving her persecution.

Later, local media reported that she was being prosecuted on charges of “insulting an organized body,” “insulting the judiciary,” and “publishing and spreading false news” on social media, all vague accusations Moroccan authorities routinely exploit to stifle dissent.

But this is not the first time El Alami has faced judicial harassment. In September 2022, she was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine—an escalation of an earlier two-year sentence—solely for her Facebook posts in which she denounced abuses of power and criticized state institutions. She was convicted on vague charges such as “insulting a legally constituted body,” “disrespecting public officials,” “obstructing judicial decisions,” and “spreading false information with intent to defame.” 

In October 2023, the same court reduced another sentence against her from two years to eight months, related to charges stemming from statements deemed “insulting to the King and the judiciary.” Though she was released in 2024 under the royal pardon, her re-arrest in July 2025 confirms that Morocco’s repression and crackdown on dissent has only intensified.

Her trial was initially scheduled for July 8, but she refused to attend in protest of being denied legal representation. As a result, the hearing was postponed. On July 15, she began a hunger and water strike to decry her mistreatment and the systemic denial of due process. The strike was suspended on July 18 after partial concessions, including access to her lawyer. A new hearing was scheduled for July 23, but as of today, there has been no official confirmation that it took place, nor any transparency about the status of her case.

In parallel to her prosecution, El Alami has also been the target of coordinated defamation and hate speech campaigns across social media, particularly by Moroccan YouTube bloggers and media outlets with hundreds of thousands of followers. These attacks have branded her a “traitor” and a “mercenary,” accusing her of inciting violence simply for participating in peaceful protests demanding the release of imprisoned free expression activists. 

Notably, Nabd—an Arabic news app with millions of followers on Facebook that frequently features content from Moroccan government-linked sources—circulated an article smearing her as “a psychopath who ran from pornography to media maid for the traitor Gerando.” Such slanderous attacks, widely shared online, are clearly aimed at delegitimizing her activism and silencing her voice through reputational attacks.

SIHR is deeply alarmed by the overtly political nature of this prosecution. El Alami’s ordeal reflects the country’s broader assault on dissent, particularly against women activists, who face relentless harassment, legal retaliation, and imprisonment. 

We call on Moroccan authorities to:

• Immediately and unconditionally release Saida El Alami
• Drop all charges related to her peaceful expression and online activism, which are protected under Article 25 of the Moroccan Constitution and Article 19 of the ICCPR, both of which guarantee freedom of expression.
• Guarantee her right to a fair trial, including full access to legal counsel and due process.
• End the systematic persecution, targeting, and legal harassment of human rights defenders and critics.
• Protect activists from online harassment and defamation, ensure a safe environment for peaceful human rights work, and hold accountable those behind smear campaigns, whether via social media, digital platforms, or aligned media outlets.