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Moroccan historian and human rights activist Maati Monjib, who has been on hunger strike for 19 days, will be granted provisional release after three months in prison, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
“The investigating judge decided to release him provisionally on bail, and steps are underway to get him out of prison,” said Mohamed Messaoudi, adding that his client’s health was “good even though he lost. 12 kilos “(26 pounds).
Monjib, 60, was taken into police custody on December 29 as part of a preliminary money laundering investigation.
At the same time, a Moroccan court sentenced him in January to one year in prison for fraud and endangering state security, as part of a trial that opened in 2015.
Her defense team said they had not been informed of the hearing and that Monjib was apparently not present.
He has repeatedly denounced his “wrongful arrest” and denied the charges against him.
Moroccan judicial authorities said Monjib had received a fair trial.
Earlier this month, Monjib, who is also of French nationality, filed a complaint in France, including for “psychological harassment” linked to his detention.
His French lawyers said at the time that he was “one of the most emblematic critical voices of the Moroccan regime, denouncing in particular the hold of the security services on political life”.
His supporters in Morocco and France have repeatedly called for his release, calling him a “prisoner of conscience” and worrying about the effects of his hunger strike on his health.
In a Facebook statement in November saying he had contracted the novel coronavirus, Monjib said he also suffered from heart problems and diabetes.
His lawyer said on Tuesday he was “in a good mood”, adding that he hoped Monjib would face “a fair trial”.
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