After she was heard by the investigating judge, Moroccan signer Dounia Batma and her sister Ibtissam were released on bail, Monday, for blackmail charges, wrote Moroccan news agency MAP, quoting a well-informed source. The suspects are prosecuted for «participation in fraudulent access to the computer data processing system and dissemination of images and statements of others without their consent, with the aim of harming or defaming» them, the same source added. The investigating judge also decided that D.B. and her sister should post a security bond of 400,000 dirhams. Earlier on Monday, 30 December, Batma was heard by the King's prosecutor in Marrakech and then brought before the investigating judge over alleged involvement in blackmail. According to media reports, Dounia's sister Ibtissam Batma has been arrested by the police over the same claims. Last week, Dounia Batma, who rose to fame as the runner-up of the first season of Arab Idol, had her passport and cell phone seized by the police as soon as she arrived in Morocco, Le360 reported. On Thursday, she was interrogated for 12 hours by the National Brigade of the Judicial Police (BNPJ) in Casablanca as part of an investigation into the «Hamza mon bb» case. «She was also formally notified that she is banned from leaving the country», well-informed sources said. The «Hamza mon bb» case emerged in August when Moroccan singer Saida Charaf filed a complaint against an anonymous account on social media. This account released intimate details about the private lives of several Moroccan celebrities. On September 16, the main owner of the account was arrested and then brought before the Marrakech Court of First Instance. He was charged with «defamation, insult, bashing, sexual harassment and violation of the privacy of several people on the Internet». One of the people related case revealed that the Batma sisters were allegedly involved in the case.
