HIBAPRESS – A. Mahyaoui
The Khénifra Court of First Instance sentenced this week a municipal councilor and a municipal employee to effective prison terms after convicting them of defamation via social media, following a complaint filed by a doctor who accused them of harming his person and damaging his professional reputation.
The details of the case go back to a video circulated on "Facebook" pages, which included content that the doctor in question considered as clear defamation that affected his dignity and image in front of public opinion, which prompted the Public Prosecution to open a judicial investigation into the matter. The complaint clarified that the municipal councilor, who is active in the media field without legal authorization, deliberately published content that violates the confidentiality of judicial investigations and addresses cases still pending before the courts, in what the doctor described as "an attempt to influence the course of the cases" and "the practice of scandal journalism for the purpose of stirring up controversy and achieving buzz". As for the municipal employee, he was prosecuted for republishing and circulating the same data, which was considered as participation in the original act of defamation. Based on the data of the file and the deliberations of the sessions, the court decided to sentence the municipal councilor to two years in prison and a fine of 10,000 dirhams, while acquitting him of the charge of "insulting a legally organized body," while it sentenced the municipal employee to six months in prison and a fine of 5,000 dirhams. The court also held the defendants jointly and severally liable for the costs and the minimum compulsory.
