On Monday, the Rabat Court of First Instance reviewed a complaint filed in February by Abdellatif Ouahbi, the Minister of Justice and former Secretary General of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), against Hamid El Mahdaoui, the director of the Badil website. The court decided to postpone the case until October 14, at the request of El Mahdaoui's defense. Ouahbi, in his previous role as Secretary General of the PAM, initiated legal action after El Mahdaoui made statements suggesting a possible connection between the PAM and the «Sahara Escobar» drug trafficking case. In January 2024, the political bureau of the PAM condemned attempts to damage the party's image and that of its leaders and activists through the instrumentalization of the ongoing «Sahara Escobar» case. At the time, the party announced its intention to take legal and judicial measures against anyone seeking to tarnish the party's reputation and the honor of its activists through defamatory campaigns. Following this statement, Ouahbi filed complaints against activist Mohamed Réda Taoujni and Hamid El Mahdaoui. Taoujni was promptly arrested and sentenced to two years in prison on February 21, though he was later pardoned on Throne Day. Meanwhile, El Mahdaoui was interrogated by the National Brigade of the Judicial Police on February 17. A sit-in in solidarity with El Mahdaoui took place on Monday in front of the Rabat Court of First Instance, organized by the Moroccan Instance for the Support of Political Prisoners.
