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Mohamed Ziane, the 81-year-old former Moroccan Minister for Human Rights, was sentenced to five years in prison for corruption.
His lawyer described the sentence as retribution for his outspokenness and defense of political prisoners.
The court had found him and two colleagues guilty of corruption and embezzlement during the 2015 election campaign.
Ali Reda Ziane, lawyer and son of the accused, vigorously denied the charges, claiming that the court had not followed the usual procedures and had lost the 17 appeals filed by the defense.
He linked the case to his father’s defense of journalists and activists critical of the government, seeing it as an attack on freedom of expression in Morocco.
The verdict has prompted international reactions from human rights organizations. In 2022, Ziane had already been sentenced to three years’ imprisonment on 11 charges, including defamation and sexual harassment.
