Rabat: Reduction of Ziane’s Sentence to 3 Years and Failure of Judicial Disruption Campaigns
The Court of Appeal in Rabat early Thursday reduced the prison sentence of former human rights minister Mohamed Ziane from five years to three years in connection with the embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds belonging to the Moroccan Liberal Party.
Ziane is currently serving a three-year prison sentence in a previous case at Al Arjat Prison. After merging the sentences handed down against him, he could be released by next November if the actual durations of the sentences are taken into account.
Moroccan criminal law governs the matter of integrating sentences through Articles 119 and 120, focusing on cases where a single individual commits multiple crimes simultaneously or in succession, without an intervening final judgment that can be challenged.
Despite the clarity of this legal aspect, some ill-intentioned individuals chose to ignore the possibility of Ziane’s anticipated release, misleadingly promoting the information of “three years in prison” as if it were an independent new sentence, with the aim of distorting public opinion.
The prosecution had requested a stricter penalty, considering the charges against him serious and damaging to public financial management, but the court decided to reduce it based on what emerged during the appeal sessions.
Simultaneously with the proceedings of this case, some disruptors attempted to exploit the situation to mobilize public opinion by spreading false information and attacking the independence of the judiciary. However, these attempts failed, as it became clear that the case followed a transparent judicial process and met all conditions for a fair trial.
