Thread by @ibnkafka

1. Morocco has the appearance of an outward-looking, modern, liberal Arab regime. In reality its security services are aping the dirty tricks of Ben Ali's dictatorship in Tunisia. #N26011 #N23052 #JusticePourOmarEtSoulaimane #FreeKoulchi

2. Since the mid-2000s, Morocco's regime has managed to rid its national media from fiercely independent journalists such as @Alilmrabet, @aboubakrj, @AhmedBenchemsi and Ali Anouzla, to name the most well-known. #N23052 #N26011 #FreeKoulchi #justicepouromaretsoulaimane

3. Morocco's media scene is now dominated by public media & a gutter press publishing details from the private lives of dissidents, to which it adds outright lies, on a cue from Morocco's various political police services. #N23052 #N26011 #justicepouromaretsoulaimane #FreeKoulchi

4. Just like Tunisia's BenAli, allegations of ordinary crimes, mostly of a sexual nature, are preferred over what are really political crimes - as such prosecutions would affect Morocco's sacro-sanct foreign reputation. #N23052 #N26011 #justicepouromaretsoulaimane #FreeKoulchi

5. To be fair, there are political dissidents who have been prosecuted for and convicted of political crimes - namely the #Hirak protests in the Rif and its front figure, Nasser Zefzafi, condemned to 20 years in jail for a purely political crime.

6. Both @OmarRADI and @FreeRaissouni are fiercely independent journalists who never let their opinions get in the way of the facts, to the intense annoyance of Morocco's authoritarian regime. #N23052 #N26011 #justicepouromaretsoulaimane #FreeKoulchi

7. Both are accused of sexual crimes. Twitter is certainly not the right forum to adjudicate such claims, but it is certainly the right forum to highlight the violation of the principles of due process, fair trial & equality of arms. #N23052 #N26011 #FreeKoulchi

8. An espionage charge has been added to @OmarRADI's charges, basically for having performed a survey for a British consultancy firm. #justicepouromaretsoulaimane #FreeKoulchi #N23052 #N26011

9. Both have had to suffer months of pre-trial detention under severe conditions, and without being able to invoke a proper defence. They've been held in isolation. #N23052 #N26011 #justicepouromaretsoulaimane

10. To add to the unsavoury character of these charges, @FreeRaissouni is the uncle of journalist @hajarraissounu, writing for the same independent Akhbar al Yaoum paper and who was held on trumped-up illegal abortion charges before being pardoned. #N23052 #N26011 #FreeKoulchi

11. It is no coincidence that Akhbar al Yaoum recently folded, under the blows of Morocco's regime.

12. You may now understand why standing for the rights of @OmarRADI and @FreeRaissouni is vital, especially as historian and journalist Maati Monjib was recently freed from pre-trial detention after international pressure. #N23052 #N26011 #justicepouromaretsoulaimane

13. So please retweet your support for independent Moroccan journalists @OmarRADI and @FreeRaissouni and their right to a fair trial and freedom of expression - their freedom depends on it. #N23052 #N26011 #justicepouromaretsoulaimane #FreeKoulchi

14. I forgot to mention @StitouImad, a witness whose version exculpated @OmarRADI, and who since is accused of being his accomplice in a blatant attempt to make him rescind his exculpatory testimony. #justicepouromaretsoulaimane #FreeKoulchi #N23052 #N26011