When HRW treats anti-Morocco allegations as facts

Human Rights Watch has once again derailed from its watchdog mission issuing a politically-motivated heinous report on the state of human rights in Morocco in which allegations are taken as facts!

In a 129-page report that is more of a diatribe than an objective compilation, HRW rehashed one-sided stories and statements from a group of self-proclaimed activists who have been using human rights to serve an anti-Moroccan agenda.

The report was issued as Morocco prepares for the celebration of the Throne Day, a national occasion that symbolizes the steady bond between the monarchy and the people.

The timing of this diatribe/report says much about the political intentions of HRW, an organization that has betrayed its ideals of objectivity in treating human rights issue. The report has one goal: attempting to undermine Morocco’s image within Western circles, notably in the US.

HRW whose members come in and out of Morocco interviewing people freely and attending trials and other events has preferred to turn a blind eye on countries such as Algeria and Egypt, which bar access for the organization’s members to their countries.

The ability of HRW to operate freely in Morocco is the first element that discredits this very hostile and biased report.

The document in itself is a tally of cases brought against the people HRW calls “dissidents”. These include penal code cases involving theft, rape and espionage.

For instance, HRW treats journalists Omar Radi and Taoufik Bouachrine as innocent opponents who are behind bars for their views, where in fact they were indicted on rape and sexual assault charges.

The rationale of HRW is that opponents or dissidents should not be brought before justice despite the existence of victims who have sued them for rape and sexual assault.

HRW did not only sideline with people who have been found guilty by the Moroccan judiciary. It showed contempt for the many women that accused Bouachrine of sexual exploitation and the Moroccan journalist who said she was raped by Radi.

HRW is saying between the lines that any penal code case brought against “dissidents” is rejected because it treats “opponents” as people who should be above the law! That is the basic message of its 129-page-long diatribe.

The organization went too far in its enmity to Morocco showing lack of respect for the judiciary of an independent state.

HRW claims that Morocco has an ecosystem of repression reiterating unfounded accusations that Morocco used Pegasus malware! But it fell short of offering any proof, save uncorroborated statements from self-proclaimed activists who hide their anti-Moroccan positions behind a thin curtain of human rights activism.

The organization included in its promotional video of the report an attack on the Moroccan press which it described as “state-aligned”! Maati Mounjib, who is sued for embezzlement of funds, has complained that the press wrote stories about his case, in a blatant attack on press freedom as if the media is not allowed to write on cases brought against “activists”.

In a first reaction, spokesman for the Moroccan government Mustapha Baitas said the report was orchestrated to undermine Moroccan interests and that the country will forge ahead with the rule of law.

Morocco’s media and editors association also denounced the report and its attack on the Moroccan press.

HRW had better do its job and look into the thousands of dissidents arrested in Algeria. But they can’t! because unlike Morocco, Algeria does not allow HRW to access the country and unlike Morocco, those in Algeria who talk to HRW bare faced will face the worst forms of retaliation.

In sum, HRW one-sided biased and heinous report is evidence of the freedom that human rights activists enjoy in Morocco, the only oasis of stability and freedoms in a turbulent region mired in authoritarianism and media blackout.