Morocco’s opposition parties are intensifying pressure on King Mohammed VI to pardon Mohamed Ziane, an 81-year-old former Human Rights Minister, who is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
The Justice and Development Party (PJD) has publicly urged the monarch to consider Ziane’s circumstances and the humanitarian challenges he faces.
Ziane, a seasoned lawyer and founder of the Moroccan Liberal Party (PML), was sentenced to five years in 2023 on charges of corruption and embezzlement during Morocco’s 2015 election campaign.
However, his son and attorney, Ali Reda Ziane, denies the charges, describing the trial as a form of retribution for Ziane’s high-profile defence of journalists, political prisoners, and activists critical of the state.
Rights groups have widely condemned the proceedings as unfair and politically motivated.
The Moroccan Association in Support of Political Prisoners labelled the case an effort “to humiliate and silence” Ziane.
This latest sentence compounds an earlier three-year verdict issued in 2022, which found Ziane guilty of 11 charges, including defamation, adultery, and insulting a public official.
