Concern about jailed Moroccan journalist on hunger strike
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is concerned about the health of the imprisoned Moroccan journalist and historian Maati Monjib, who has been on hunger strike in a Rabat jail for the past week, and calls on authorities to allow him independent medical supervision.
Monjib, who also has French citizenship, began a hunger strike on 4 March in protest against the one-year prison sentence on charges of “fraud” and “undermining state security” that he received from a court in Rabat on 27 January. The sentence was passed in the absence of both Monjib and his lawyers, who were not notified that the hearing was going to take place. The court also fined Monjib 15,000 dirhams (1,400) euros.
“Maati Monjib is 59, he is diabetic and has heart problems, and his health and life are now in danger,” said Souhaieb Khayati, the head of RSF’s North Africa desk. “We ask for him to be allowed independent medical supervision and for the French consular authorities in Morocco to be allowed to visit him so that, inter alia, they can verify his state of health.”
This is not the first time that Monjib has gone on hunger strike. When he was banned from leaving the country in 2015 at the end of a judicial investigation marred by irregularities, he stopped eating for 20 days. His protest resulted in the lifting of the ban.
Morocco is ranked 133rd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index.
