A Moroccan activist has been sentenced to five years in prison for allegedly “insulting” the king and criticizing the normalization of relations with Israel online, according to his lawyer.
Abderrahmane Zankad, 48, a member of the banned but tolerated Al Ald Wal Ihsanne party, was arrested in March and received his sentence on Monday.
His lawyer, El Hassan Essonni, stated that Zankad had denounced “Arab rulers” and “normalizers” of ties with Israel on Facebook during the Israel-Hamas conflict in Gaza.
While Zankad’s lawyer clarified that his client’s comments were not specifically directed at the King of Morocco, Zankad did refer to the “commander of the faithful,” a title associated with King Mohammed VI of Morocco, in one of his posts.
Zankad was also accused of “spreading false information” about Rabat’s handling of a devastating earthquake in 2023.
The court in Casablanca sentenced Zankad to five years in prison for “insulting the king” and the monarchy, as confirmed by his lawyer.
Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane, the group to which Zankad belongs, denounced the sentencing as “unjust” in a statement issued on Tuesday.
Since the outbreak of the Gaza war following Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, Al Adl Wa Al Ihssane has been organizing weekly rallies across Morocco in solidarity with Palestinians.
The most recent demonstration, held last Friday in Casablanca, the country’s largest city and economic hub, attracted thousands of participants.
