Moroccan journalist Soulaiman Raissouni was arrested, Friday, in front of his house in Casablanca. Police officers in civil clothes took him in an SUV car, Alyaoum24 said, quoting his wife. Since then, he has been placed in police custody following a complaint lodged against him by a homosexual man (A.M) from Marrakech. Raissouni, who is the editor-in-chief of Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, is reportedly accused of «sexual assault». This case was revealed by Arabic-language newspaper Barlamane which wrote, Wednesday, that the alleged victim had lodged a complaint against Raissouni. The North Africa office of Reporters Without Borders (RSF) is the first to react to the journalist's arrest, writing on Twitter that «Raissouni has been targeted by a smear campaign for the past few days by media close to intelligence services». Raissouni's latest article published on Akhbar Al Yaoum was devoted to the disappearance of press releases by DGSN and the public prosecutor's office regarding those who breach the state of health emergency. #Alerte #Maroc arrestation à 18h20 de Suleiman Raissouni redacteur en chef du journal arabophone Akhabar el Yaoum. Raissouni est la cible d'une campagne de diffamation depuis quelques jours de la part des médias proches des services de renseignement. pic.twitter.com/ImStBomw4k — RSF_Afrique-du-Nord (@RSF_NordAfrique) May 22, 2020 Soulaiman is the uncle of journalist Hajar Raissouni, sentenced in September to one year in prison in an abortion case, before being granted a royal pardon in October.
