Lawyer Abdessadek El Bouchtaoui has decided to settle down in the Netherlands for reasons that he explained to Yabiladi. Arabic-language newspaper, Al Hayat Al Yaoumia, reported on Tuesday that Abdessadek El Bouchtaoui, a human rights defender and lawyer who represents activists in Al-Hoceima who have faced charges in relation to protests, decided to leave Morocco for the Netherlands. According to the same source, El Bouchtaoui has allegedly sought asylum, after having decided to «definitively leave the Moroccan territory». Contacted by Yabiladi, the lawyer revealed that he is indeed in the Netherlands, and that he has not sought asylum yet. He also emphasized that he is not willing to stay there forever. Taking a break Moreover, the lawyer explained to Yabiladi that he is not going back to Morocco «as long as Hirak activists are still in prison and as long as attempts to put him in prison and muzzle his mouth are still there». «If I come back now, there will be more attempts to put me in prison. My arrest will bring nothing to support the detainees. For the above-mentioned reasons, I prefer to carry on defending the Hirak detainees through international pressure». For these reasons, Abdessadek El Bouchtaoui is intending to stay away for an indefinite period, he told Yabiladi without hiding his disappointment : «Despite all the efforts that have been made, I see that we are still dwelling in the past. I hope that through my work and that of all those who support the Hirak detainees outside Morocco, our country will one day reach true reconciliation.» For the record, El Bouchtaoui was sentenced on February the 8th to 20 months in prison by the Al Hoceima Court of First Instance. The prosecution accuses the lawyer of «insulting officials and representatives of the authority while on duty», in addition to «insulting and threatening» public bodies. The lawyer is also prosecuted for «incitement to commit crimes» and «organizing unauthorized assemblies». In a previous interview, the lawyer told us that these accusations were more of «a political trial to shut him down and put forward the version of the story provided by the authorities regarding the Hirak movement, whose demands are and will remain legitimate». El Bouchtaoui was to appear in court on March the 22nd, and the next day for a disciplinary hearing related to his profession.
