29/06/05
The court of first instance of Rabat decided, on Tuesday, to postpone the trial of Islamist activist Nadia Yassine at the request of the defence, reported MAP.
Nadia Yassine (front) led by her father, Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, arrives at the Rabat courthouse. Nadia Yassine is to be tried for preferring a republic to a monarchy.
Yassine, member of the unauthorized group Al Adl Wal Ihssane, is sued for anti-monarchy statements. She will face several years in prison and heavy fines if found guilty.
The Rabat court postponed the trial to hear two journalists as witnesses but did not set a new date.
Police dispersed hundreds of Islamists, who protested in front of the court, chanting: “Enough is enough.”
“Analysts say a conviction could anger the non-violent Islamist movement Charity and Welfare,” said the Al-Jazeera news website.
Yassine, in an interview with the Moroccan weekly Al Ousbouia Al Jadida, said that she expected the monarchy to collapse soon. “Moroccans can live without King Mohammed,” she said. She called for the setting up of a republic.
Yassine vented her preference for the republican regime, saying the monarchy did not suit Morocco. She is being sued along with two journalists of Al Ousbouia Al Jadida.
But she has said she was only expressing her personal views.
The Moroccan government spokesperson, Nabil Benandellah, had affirmed in a press conference that the statements of Nadia Yassine are opposed to the “deep beliefs of the Moroccan nation.” “It is natural to have recourse to justice when the provisions of the Constitution are violated,” he said.
“The press code is clear and defines the responsibilities of people who make statements, those who publish them, those who print them and those who distribute them,” said Benabdellah.
Yassine arrived in court wearing sticking-plaster over her mouth to protest against what she calls an attack on freedom of expression.
On trial with her is also Adelaziz Gougass, editor of the Al Ousbouia Al Jadida daily that published the interview. His case was also postponed.
Yassine has headed the movement since her father Abdeslam was jailed under late King Hassan, the father of the current king.
Charity and Welfare has a strong following in universities and is popular in poor areas. It is banned from politics but allowed to do charity and other work linked mainly to education.
However, it has flexed its muscles several times in the past by rallying up to hundreds of thousands of sympathisers in demonstrations mainly in solidarity with the Palestinians.