European Parliament flouts rights of rape victims, uses Morocco as smoke screen
Mired in corruption cases, members of the European Parliament adopted a resolution that disrespects Morocco’s judiciary and flouts the rights of rape victims.
The resolution turned a blind eye to the decision of the judiciary to indict three Moroccan journalists on rape charges while rehashing biased statements of NGOs that emptied the charges of their penal content to focus on the job of the three men in jail.
Omar Radi, Soulimane Raisouni and Taoufik Bouachrine all faced their rape victims at court as the trial was in no case about their job as reporters.
The logic governing the European Parliament resolution condemning the arrest of the three journalists is permeated by a call for impunity. Just because the three men are journalists, should they be immune from standing before a judge for a criminal code matter relating to rape?
The European Parliament did not bother to mention that Omar Radi was accused of rape by his colleague, Hafsa Boutahar, who submitted her evidence.
Most of the members of the European parliament- so staunch in defending gay rights- ignore that Soulimane Raissouni received a jail term for sexually assaulting a man.
No European Parliament mentioned the ordeal of at least 8 women who endured physical and emotional abuse in the news room by editor in chief Taoufik Bouachrine, who subjected them to sexual assault in his office.
The resolution and its “urgent” character shows the extent to which a European Parliament is stumbling to distract from the corruption case many of its members are involved in which came to be called “Qatargate” to which anti-Moroccan circles are enmeshing Rabat.
Since they cannot issue a resolution against Qatar due to their dependence on its gas, they picked Morocco as an easy scapegoat to the detriment of instrumentalizing human rights as a tool for political pressure and foreign interference.
The majority of MEPs who voted in the resolution against the EU’s most stable Mediterranean partner did so out of pressure to distance themselves from unfounded allegations of corruption involving many of their colleagues to which some circles insist on involving Morocco with no hard evidence.
By meddling with the decisions of Morocco’s judiciary, the European Parliament not only shows disdain for a key Moroccan institution but seals bluntly a failed attempt to interfere in Morocco’s domestic affairs.
Mired in corruption and lack of legitimacy before many EU citizens, the EU Parliament has given an open podium to pro-separatist and Algeria backed voices to spit their venom against Morocco.
Following the example of French-Algerian Karima Delli, another MEP of Algerian origins Salima Yenbou (EELV), who voiced their strong rejection of a resolution condemning Algeria citing the risk of politicizing human rights, has staunchly defended and welcomed the resolution against Morocco.
Algeria where a crackdown on free voices and the media is taking place with the closure of the country’s last free Radio M and the arrest of its director Ihssane Kadi is a non-news for the EU and the European Parliament.
“In Algeria you cannot practice journalism…I am facing a death sentence for doing my job,” said Abdou Semmar an economic journalist in exile.
“The European left has never condemned Algeria and the EU gives it everything in return for its gas,” said MEP Thierry Mariani.
He deplored that the resolution echoed biased reports of Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch and ignored the essence of the rape accusations.
“It is not the job of the European Parliament to stick its nose in Morocco’s judiciary,” he said.
In response to the resolution, the Moroccan parliament’s two chambers will hold a joint plenary on Monday to discuss the latest positions of the European Parliament on Morocco, announced Saturday the speakers of the House of Representatives and the House of Advisors in a joint statement.
