A similar stance by the Eurochamber has not been seen since 1994. The No of a patrol of Spanish socialists stands out. Abstained the blue Salini. Also approved an amendment that wants to prevent other scandals such as Qatargate (without the votes of the Brothers of Italy).
The European Parliament “urges the Moroccan authorities to respect the freedom of the media and to ensure fair trials for imprisoned journalists”. With a resolution approved by a large majority (356 votes in favour, 32 against and 42 abstentions) during the session of 19 January, the Eurochamber condemned, for the first time since 1994, the conduct assumed by the Rabat authorities towards journalists and political activists in open violation of fundamental rights and of the EU-Morocco association agreement. The amendment, presented by the left-wing group, also passes, expressing “deep concern” over the allegations that the Rabat authorities have bribed some MEPs and calls for the Moroccan representatives to “apply the same measures applied to the Qatari representatives ”: among these the stop to the access of the delegates of the two countries involved in the case.
With the resolution, the MEPs ask for “the immediate provisional release of Omar Radi”, detained since July 2020 and sentenced on appeal to six years’ imprisonment on charges of espionage and rape, and of “Souleimen Raissouni and Taoufik Bouachrine”, respectively director and editor-in-chief of the now defunct independent Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar al-Yaoum, who, according to Reporters Without Borders (RSF) are “two more victims of the exploitation of sex scandals” in Morocco. The resolution also calls for the release of the leader of the Hirak of the Rif, “Nasser Zefzafi, finalist of the Sakharov prize for freedom of thought 2018”, sentenced to 20 years in prison.
A resolution described as “historic” by RSF, which welcomes with enthusiasm “the end of the silence of the European Parliament on Morocco” and which, through the words of its secretary general Christophe Deloire, explains that “we have been warning MEPs for several years about the intimidation and judicial harassment of Moroccan journalists”, receiving only negative responses. However, the resolution was approved not without pressure from the Moroccan government which criticized the European legislative body and called the legislative measure ignorant of the “situation of press freedom in Morocco”.
The vote – The No condemnation of Morocco by a large patrol of over ten Spanish socialists stands out on the vote of the resolution. Forza Italia MEP Massimiliano Salini abstains. More divisive, in the EP groups, was the vote on the amendment by the left which calls for the extension to the representatives of Morocco of the measures already adopted by the Eurochamber on Qatar. The text passed without the votes of Fdi-Ecr, whose MEPs, including the Italians Carlo Fidanza, Nicola Procaccini, Sergio Berlato, Denis Nesci and Raffaele Stancanelli, opted for abstention. “Our abstention on this amendment is obviously not due to any indulgence”, the Fdi delegation justified itself in a note, “towards the very serious facts that are emerging with the Qatargate investigation, on which we have held a position since day one uncompromising”.
What The Resolution Provides?
The approved text calls on the Moroccan government to release “all journalists in prison, an end to the harassment of all journalists in the country, as well as their lawyers and their families”. Furthermore, Brussels “strongly condemns the fact that allegations of sexual assault are misused to dissuade journalists from exercising their activity”. The United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detentions had already concluded that the detentions of Akhbar al-Yaoum journalists were arbitrary, explaining that “Bouachrine and Raissouni were targeted for exercising their profession and their right to freedom of expression”. The text then goes further and urges Rabat to put an end to the digital surveillance of journalists and activists, “including through the NSO group’s Pegasus spy software”. EU member countries are also asked to “stop exporting surveillance technology to Morocco”. But it doesn’t end there. The European Parliament “expresses its deep concern over the allegations that the Moroccan authorities have bribed some MEPs”, asking for “the application of the same measures applied to the representatives of Qatar” and reiterating “its commitment to investigate and address in depth the cases of corruption involving third countries attempting to gain influence in the European Parliament”.
Political Pressure From Rabat
This last part especially alarmed the Moroccan government which, in the days preceding the discussion and the vote on the resolution, tried to influence the decisions of the European deputies. Indeed, on 16 January a delegation of politicians from Rabat requested urgent meetings in Brussels with MEPs representing all the political groups. On the same day, the president of the socialist group in the Moroccan Chamber of Deputies, Abderrahim Chahid, wrote to the president of the S&D group, Iratxe Garcia Perez, to express his regret at the resolution and explaining that “while Morocco is mobilizing all the necessary means to strengthen the partnership” Morocco-EU, “we are witnessing the implacability of some parliamentarians” intent on “damaging our bilateral relations”.
Chahid also explains in his letter that the proposed resolutions presented, both the “verbal one by Left, and the written one by Renew Europe demonstrate a real ignorance of the situation of press freedom in Morocco”. “Our goal is to bring points of view together and remove misunderstandings, especially in these times of great uncertainty and crisis,” concludes the Moroccan MP. Lahcen Haddad, co-president of the EU-Morocco joint parliamentary commission accuses the EU of “double standards” and criticizes the fact that the resolution “refers to a case still pending before an independent judiciary of a partner country and interferes therefore in an ongoing judicial process”.
This article is originally published on ilfattoquotidiano.it
