A Moroccan citizen has filed a complaint against the French newspaper "Libération" after it published her photo on the cover of a special issue regarding the Al Haouz earthquake, alongside the phrase "Help us, we are dying in silence," which sparked widespread public outrage in Morocco. The lawyers representing the citizen, "Th.S," announced that a complaint has been submitted to the French public prosecutor in Paris, according to a statement from the law firm "BINSARDS MARTINE ASSOCIES" handling the case.
Public anger also extended to professional circles in Morocco, as the cover image published on September 11 featured the Moroccan citizen in pain next to her destroyed home, accompanied by the aforementioned phrase. The lawyers' statement clarified that "this phrase was not uttered by the concerned citizen, as what she actually said at that moment was 'Long live the King,' not what appeared on the cover."
The same statement indicated that "the French media misrepresented the client’s words, exploiting her moment of vulnerability, which constitutes the offense of unlawful editing stipulated in Article 226-8 of the French Penal Code. These actions also violate privacy rights by publishing a person's image without their consent." This article specifies that "the publication of a montage made from someone’s words or image without their consent, by any means, is punishable by one year in prison and a fine of 15,000 euros if it is not clearly indicated that it is a montage or if this is not explicitly stated."
On its part, "Libération" stated that the image in question was not produced by them but was sourced from the AFP agency with the accompanying phrase: "A woman reacts to the destruction of her home due to the earthquake that occurred in the city center of Marrakech on September 9, 2023," as reported by "Hespress."
