Moroccan judge leads journalist’s trial behind closed doors

A Moroccan judge on Tuesday tried journalist and human rights activist Omar Radi behind closed doors, a decision his supporters called a “new violation”.

Radi has been in detention for almost a year for espionage and rape, which he denies.

The Casablanca Court of Appeal judge said the decision to take the case behind closed doors had been taken “in consideration of the honor” of the accused.

The 34-year-old faces charges of rape and “endangering the internal security of the state”, two separate cases which have been individually investigated but will be tried together.

In the rape case, he denied his accuser’s claim that their relationship had not been consensual.

The judge’s decision in the Radi case comes days after another Moroccan journalist, Soulaimane Raissouni, was sentenced to five years in prison for indecent assault on a man.

The United States criticized the legal decision and urged its ally Morocco to protect media freedom.

“We believe that the judicial process which led to this verdict contradicts the fundamental promise of the Moroccan system of fair trials for those accused of crimes and is incompatible with the promise of the 2011 constitution and the reform program of His Majesty the King Mohammed VI, “State Department spokesman Ned Price said. told reporters in Washington on Monday.

Radi supporters said in a statement Tuesday that the decision to hear his case behind closed doors was “a further violation of the terms of a fair trial.”

His lawyer Abdelkrim Mlih said the case was not political and should be heard in public.