International NGO Amnesty International reacted, Tuesday, to the suspended sentence handed down to Moroccan journalist Omar Radi. «He should never have been put on trial in the first place or sentenced for expressing peaceful views on social media», Heba Morayef, MENA Regional Director at Amnesty International, said responding to the court's decision. «Omar Radi is an outspoken critic of Morocco's crackdown on human rights defenders, who has shone a spotlight on the country's appalling treatment of journalists and dissidents. This sentence reinforces the message that anyone in Morocco who stands up for human rights will be punished». Amnesty International For the record, Radi was given, Tuesday, a four-month suspended sentence and a 500 dirham fine by a Casablanca court for insulting a judge on Twitter. The 33-year-old journalist was tried for a tweet in which he criticized a judge for handing «heavy» sentences to Hirak activists, including the movement's figurehead Nasser Zefzafi. The arrest and trial of Omar Radi have pushed several activists and journalists in Morocco to hit the streets and support him. Solidarity sit-ins were held in several cities, including Rabat, Agadir, Brussels and Paris.
