A Moroccan primary court sentenced opposition member and former minister Mohamed Zian to five years in prison on charges of "embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds." He is currently serving a three-year sentence for another case, according to his lawyer on Saturday. The former president of the Moroccan Liberal Party was sentenced earlier this year for public funding he received during the party's 2015 electoral campaign, according to his son and lawyer Ali Reda Zian.
The lawyer stated, "It is a form of a life sentence for an 81-year-old man, while nothing has been proven legally," adding that he intends to appeal the ruling, which was issued late at night in Rabat. In the same case, the financial crimes bench at the Rabat Court of Appeals also sentenced the party's treasurer to five years in prison and an administrative employee of the party to a two-year prison sentence, one of which is enforceable, according to the lawyer.
Mohamed Zian has been detained since November 2022 after an appeals court sentenced him to three years in prison. This conviction followed a complaint by the Ministry of Interior that included eleven charges, including "insulting judicial officers and public employees," "insulting organized entities," "defamation," and "harassment, blackmail, and sexual extortion." Mohamed Zian served as Minister of Human Rights from 1995 to 1996.
