International non-profit, non-governmental organization Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said Monday, November the 12th, that it is «disturbed» by the 12-year-jail sentence handed down to Moroccan journalist and Akhbar al-Yaoum columnist Taoufik Bouachrine by a Casablanca criminal court. In a statement made public on the same day, RSF stressed that «many doubts surround the verdict», which held Bouachrine accountable for sexual assault charges. «This case seems to indicate a desire to persecute a journalist who had fallen foul of the authorities in the past in connection with his journalism», said Reporters Without Borders. «The conduct of the trial prevents us from ruling out the hypothesis that it was trumped up or at least exploited in order to further discredit him as a journalist. The verdict is marred by doubt». Reporters Without Borders For the record, Taoufik Bouachrine was sentenced on November the 9th to 12 years in prison for assaulting a number of women. His trial was launched on March the 8th, was held, according to RSF, behind closed doors and was accused of human trafficking, abuse of power for sexual purposes, rape and attempted rape. These charges were later dropped. RSF believes that the way in which the trial was held was «surrounded with doubts» . «Plaintiffs were pressured by the authorities and some denied making complaints against Bouachrine», said the organization.
