Morocco sentences activist for criticising judiciary

Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist and rights activist was handed a four-month suspended sentence and a $50 fine for insulting a judge on Twitter.
Last year, Radi tweeted that a judge was working under orders when he gave heavy sentences to leaders of the 2016 protests over the country’s social and economic issues.
The prosecutor said that the tweet was directed at the judge in person and not the judiciary. Radi denied that: “I was expecting to be acquitted as I am not guilty and was only expressing my own opinion”, he told the media.
The verdict angered rights activists in the country, who have decried the use of the penal code in free speech cases instead of a publishing code, which has had no provision for imprisonment: “This sentence reinforces the message that anyone in Morocco who stands up for human rights will be punished”, Amnesty International said.
According to rights activists, courts in the country have recently sentenced several individuals to prison terms of up to four years for insulting constitutional institutions or public servants and inciting protests.
Radi announced he will appeal the verdict.