Moroccan Journalist Jailed for an Abortion She Says She Never Had

Moroccan Journalist Jailed for an Abortion She Says She Never Had

By Amanda Arnold
Oct. 1, 2019

On Monday, a 28-year-old Moroccan journalist was sentenced to a year in prison for an abortion that she denies ever getting, in a case that critics have condemned as part of a concerted effort to suppress journalists’ critical coverage of the government, the Guardian reports.

Over the past month, the prosecution of Hajar Raissouni — as well as of her fiancé, Rifaat al-Amin — has sparked nationwide outrage. On August 31, Raissouni and al-Amin were arrested after leaving a gynecologist’s office in the capital of Morocco, where abortion is illegal in nearly all cases. Raissouni claims she wasn’t there to terminate a pregnancy; instead, she says she was visiting the doctor to get a blood clot removed. During the trial, a lawyer for her doctor provided medical evidence regarding Raissouni’s hormone levels that further demonstrated she had not undergone an abortion.

Continued: https://www.thecut.com/2019/10/moroccan-journalist-jailed-abortion-she-denies-having.html

01.10.2019

jailing women for abortion

Moroccan Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Abortion and Premarital Sex

Moroccan Journalist Sentenced to Prison for Abortion and Premarital Sex

By Aida Alami
Sept. 30, 2019

RABAT, Morocco — A Moroccan judge on Monday found a journalist and her fiancé guilty of having premarital sex and obtaining an abortion, and imposed prison sentences on them and a doctor convicted of performing the abortion, in a case that critics have denounced as a thinly veiled bid to suppress critical coverage of the government.

The journalist, Hajar Raissouni, 28, who works for the independent daily newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, and her fiancé, Rifaat al-Amin, were arrested on Aug. 31 as they were leaving a gynecologist’s office in the Moroccan capital, Rabat.

continued: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/30/world/africa/morocco-abortion-sex-hajar-raissouni.html

Protest held outside trial of Moroccan journalist accused of illegal abortion

Protest held outside trial of Moroccan journalist accused of illegal abortion
Hajar Raissouni says charges are fabricated and motivated by her work, which is critical of government

Ruth Michaelson in Cairo
Mon 16 Sep 2019

Demonstrators have staged a protest outside a court in Rabat to coincide with the latest hearing in the trial of a Moroccan journalist accused of undergoing an illegal abortion and having sex before marriage.

In a letter written from prison, Hajar Raissouni said the charges were fabricated and motivated by her work, which had been critical of the government.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/16/protest-moroccan-journalist-trial-hajar-raissouni