A Moroccan court has sentenced on Wednesday journalist Hajar Raissouni to one year in jail after being convicted of "having premarital sex and abortion of a pregnancy resulting from this illegal relationship”, according to BBC Arabic website.
Moreover, her gynecologist was given two years in jail, while an anesthetist and medical assistant were given suspended sentences of a year and eight months respectively.
Moroccan activists criticized the ruling, saying it was part of a campaign "targeting journalists critical of the government", as Hajar works for the independent Moroccan outlet "Akhbar al Yaoum".
Akhbar al-Yaoum is one of the few remaining newspapers critical of the government left in Morocco. According to Human Rights Watch, it has been suppressed by authorities on several occasions since it began publishing in 2009.
However, authorities confirmed Hajar's violation of the law, and that she was not arrested because of her work, yet after undergoing an illegal abortion in Rabat, last August.
Raissouni denied those accusations, stressing that she went to the doctor's clinic for medical treatment after suffering internal bleeding.
The lawyer said they are in the process of appealing Monday's verdict.
In a letter sent from prison to Akhbar al-Youm, Raissouni said the police interrogated her about her work and her uncles Souliman and Ahmed Raissouni. Ahmed Raissouni is the former leader of one of Morocco's largest Islamic groups, the Movement for Unity and Reform.
"They asked me why I went to my fiancé's house when he was traveling. I told them I took his dog Rika to the garden. It is then that I realized I was under surveillance," Raissouni wrote in the letter.
The prosecution insists Raissouni had an abortion, citing the results of a medical examination in a public statement issued on September 5.
Prosecutor Abdeslam Imani also refuted accusations that the charges against her were motivated by Raissouni's work as a journalist.
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