Jailed Moroccan journalist ends hunger strike over seized letter

Moroccan and international human rights defenders have called for his release and say that he has been jailed “because of his opinions.” (AFP/File)

• Soulaimane Raissouni had letter from Ukrainian novelist Andrei Kurkov confiscated by penal administration last week
• The journalist is serving a five-year prison sentence for sexual assault, a charge he has always denied

RABAT: The Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni, jailed since 2020, has ended a near week-long hunger strike started in protest at the confiscation of a letter, his family said on Wednesday.
“It is with great joy and relief that I learnt that my husband is suspending his hunger strike,” his wife and fellow journalist, Kholoud Mokhtari, said on her Facebook page.
The decision was made “in response to repeated calls from our family, his defense, human rights defenders and international NGOs who have led a broad solidarity campaign,” said Mokhtari.
She said that supporters of the incarcerated journalist would continue to defend “his legitimate demands in prison” and to fight for his release, adding that the right to correspondence remained a priority.
Raissouni, 51, began his hunger strike on Thursday to “protest the seizure by judicial authorities of a response letter from Ukrainian novelist Andrei Kurkov” received as part of a campaign by the writers’ association PEN International, according to his family.
The penal administration said that it had the right to control “the letters sent and received by detainees.”
The journalist, known for his critical editorials, is serving a five-year prison sentence for sexual assault, a charge he has always denied.
In 2021, he conducted a 122-day hunger strike in protest at his detention.
Moroccan and international human rights defenders have called for his release and say that he has been jailed “because of his opinions.”
The Moroccan authorities maintain that the judiciary is independent and following procedure.