Criminal charges brought against Al Jazeera's Rabat Bureau Chief Hassan Rachidi and human rights activist Brahim Sab'alil should be dropped, Washington-based human Rights Watch (HRW) said. The two are accused of disseminating "false information."Rachidi and Sab'alil head to trial on July 1 before the Rabat Court of First Instance on the charges, which HRW has said violate freedom of speech agreements. Sab'alil also is expected to be in court the following day on similar charges in a separate incident. Sab'alil was arrested on June 27, a day after he took part in a press conference in the Moroccan capital where he revealed evidence of human rights violations by security forces in their attempt to quell protests in the southern city of Sidi Ifni that began on June 7. Security forces broke the protestors' blockade on the city's port in violent clashes.
"Authorities should want to find out the truth about the extent of police abuse in Sidi Ifni," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East and North Africa director at Human Rights Watch. "They should allow an open discussion about the incident instead of using repressive laws to 'shoot the messenger.'"
Sab'alil is president of the Sidi Ifni section of the Moroccan Center for Human Rights (Centre Marocain des droits humains, CMDH), an independent organization that has provided ongoing information about human rights conditions in Sidi Ifni, where protests erupted largely over economic grievances. Sab'alil is also a member of the CMDH's executive committee.