Contrary to the rumors circulating on social media after last Tuesday's hearing, claims that Soukayna Benjelloun was denied provisional release because she refused to sign a «non-defamation» clause about her ex-husband, the influencer's lawyer, Meriem Berrada, says this is entirely false. Speaking to Yabiladi this Thursday, Berrada explained that she was the one who added the non-defamation clause, along with a commitment not to discuss the past relationship, in the reconciliation agreement she drafted. The agreement was then sent to the ex-husband and his lawyer for review. She added that her client had already agreed to give up several points she had previously refused to concede, in an effort to end the dispute and regain a normal life. But just before the hearing, the ex-husband introduced «conditions that are unacceptable and violate her constitutional rights and personal freedom, as if she were leaving one prison only to enter another». On the matter of provisional release, Berrada stressed that the refusal had nothing to do with the agreement not being signed. The court, she said, simply considered the guarantees of her client's presence at the next hearing, scheduled for December 9, to be insufficient. Mehdi El Kabbaj, the ex-husband, had issued a public statement saying he was willing to drop his complaint «in exchange for ethical conditions», but according to Berrada, nothing has materialized. Soukayna Benjelloun was placed in Oukacha prison last Thursday after her ex-husband filed a defamation complaint. The case, widely described online as «the most expensive divorce in Morocco» has drawn intense public attention on social media.
