Saida El Alami
Blogger and digital rights defender documenting abuses of power, corruption, and restrictions on freedom of expression in Morocco.
as of 06 Jun 2026
in Morocco
The continued use of the penal code to silence critical voices undermines freedom of opinion and expression guaranteed under Morocco's own constitution.HuMENA Editorial
Issued Saturday, 6 June 2026
§ 01Background and the caseEditorial narrative
Saida El Alami uses social media to denounce corruption and restrictions on free speech in Morocco. Arrested in July 2025, she was sentenced to three years in prison for insulting the judiciary and disseminating false allegations.
Background and Work
Saida El Alami is a blogger and digital rights defender from Morocco who has used social media platforms and participated in peaceful street demonstrations to document and denounce corruption, abuses of power, and the narrowing of civic space in her country. Her work focuses on the systematic use of criminal law to suppress critical speech, particularly provisions targeting insult to state bodies and the dissemination of what authorities classify as false information.
In 2022, she was arrested and prosecuted in two separate criminal cases. Both resulted in convictions and prison sentences that together totaled three years, plus a fine. The charges in those earlier cases were similar to those she now faces again: insult and false allegations related to her online commentary. She served that sentence until July 2024, when she was released under a royal pardon. Upon her release, she resumed her activism, continuing to post commentary about due process violations and the use of the penal code to stifle dissent.
The Arrest
On 1 July 2025, officers from the National Judicial Police Brigade arrested Saida El Alami on a street in Casablanca without prior notice or warrant. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights reported that no criminal act had been observed or alleged at the time of her arrest. She was taken to a police station and held in preliminary investigative custody for two days.
On the morning of 3 July 2025, she was brought before the King's Prosecutor at the Ain Sebaa Court of First Instance. The charges were insulting a legally organized body, disseminating false allegations, and insulting the judiciary. The prosecutor ordered her placed in pre-trial detention. Her defence lawyers report that she was denied access to legal counsel during that appearance. A trial date was initially set for 8 July.
Legal Proceedings
Saida El Alami refused to attend the hearing scheduled for 8 July 2025. Her legal team stated that the refusal was a protest against the denial of her right to counsel when she appeared before the prosecutor five days earlier. The trial was postponed to 15 July.
On 15 July, she appeared before the Casablanca Court of First Instance and informed the court that she had begun a hunger and water strike the previous day. Her lawyers explained that the strike was intended to protest the circumstances of her arrest and what they described as violations of Moroccan law and international human rights standards, particularly guarantees of freedom of opinion and expression. At the end of the hearing, under urging from both the court and her defence team, she agreed to resume drinking water. The court granted a further postponement to allow her lawyers additional time to prepare her defence, scheduling the next hearing for 23 July 2025.
On 16 September 2025, the Criminal Court of Ain Sebaa in Casablanca handed down its judgment. Saida El Alami was convicted on all three charges and sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 200,000 dirhams, approximately 18,700 euros.
Criticism and Context
The Moroccan Committee for the Support of Political Prisoners condemned the verdict, describing it as part of a broader pattern of criminalizing peaceful expression. The organization noted that the continued deployment of penal code provisions to silence critics conflicts with Article 25 of the Moroccan Constitution, which guarantees freedom of opinion and expression, and with Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Morocco is a party.
The case reflects a sustained trend in Morocco of using vaguely worded criminal statutes—particularly those related to insult of state institutions and false allegations—to prosecute individuals who criticize public authorities or document human rights violations. Saida El Alami's prosecution follows her earlier three-year imprisonment in 2022 and her release under royal pardon in July 2024. Her re-arrest less than a year after that pardon underscores the precarious position of digital rights defenders and online commentators in Morocco, where prior punishment and even official clemency provide no protection from renewed prosecution for similar speech.
§ 02Documented chronology11 events on file
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06 Jun 2026Saturday
arrest Arrested in two separate cases Saida El Alami was arrested and prosecuted in two separate criminal cases in Morocco, both related to her online commentary. She was sentenced to a combined three years in prison and a fine.
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01 Jul 2024Monday
release Released under royal pardon After serving her sentence, Saida El Alami was granted a royal pardon and released from prison. She resumed her activism and online commentary upon release.
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01 Jul 2025Tuesday
arrest Arrested in Casablanca Saida El Alami was arrested without warning by the National Judicial Police Brigade while walking on a street in Casablanca. She was taken into police custody for preliminary investigation.
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03 Jul 2025Thursday
hearing Remanded in pre-trial detention Saida El Alami appeared before the King's Prosecutor at Ain Sebaa Court of First Instance, who ordered her detention pending trial on charges of insulting a legally organized body, disseminating false allegations, and insulting the judiciary. Her lawyers report she was denied access to legal counsel.
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08 Jul 2025Tuesday
hearing Refuses to attend hearing Saida El Alami refused to attend the scheduled hearing in protest against being denied legal representation during her appearance before the prosecutor. The trial was postponed.
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14 Jul 2025Monday
hunger · strike · start Begins hunger and water strike Saida El Alami began a hunger and water strike to protest the circumstances of her arrest and violations of her rights under Moroccan and international law.
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15 Jul 2025Tuesday
hearing Court appearance during strike Saida El Alami appeared before the Casablanca Court of First Instance and informed the court of her hunger and water strike. She agreed to resume drinking water at the urging of the court and her defence team. The hearing was postponed to 23 July.
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15 Jul 2025Tuesday
hunger · strike · end Ends water strike Following her court appearance and at the urging of the court and her lawyers, Saida El Alami agreed to resume drinking water, ending the water component of her strike.
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23 Jul 2025Wednesday
hearing Hearing scheduled The court scheduled a further hearing for 23 July 2025 to allow Saida El Alami's defence team additional time to prepare.
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16 Sep 2025Tuesday
verdict Convicted on all charges The Criminal Court of Ain Sebaa in Casablanca convicted Saida El Alami on all three charges: insulting a legally constituted body, insulting the judiciary, and publishing false allegations.
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16 Sep 2025Tuesday
sentence Sentenced to three years in prison Saida El Alami was sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 200,000 dirhams (approximately 18,700 euros). The verdict drew widespread criticism from Moroccan human rights organizations.
§ 03Charges filed by the state3 on record
- 01Insulting a legally constituted body
- 02Insulting the judiciary
- 03Publishing and broadcasting false allegations
§ 04Sentence
§ 05Documented violations6 categories
§ 06Editorial provenanceHuMENA Editorial Board
This case file was compiled by HuMENA's Morocco research team from primary documentation, public filings, family-supplied legal documents, and confidential partner reporting. Editorial responsibility rests with the HuMENA Editorial Board. Where dates or facts are uncertain, the record errs on the side of the source material and notes uncertainty in the live archive at humena.org.
- Generated
- Saturday, 6 June 2026
- Source dataset retrieved
- 2026-05-12
- Live record (canonical)
- https://dev.humena.org/defenders/saida-el-alami/
- Editorial sign-off
- HuMENA Editorial Board
§ 07Take-downs · corrections · partner submissions
HuMENA welcomes corrections, additions, and take-down requests from the defender, their family, or accredited representatives. Material discrepancies are typically addressed within 72 hours.
Editorial · editorial@humena.org
Take-downs & corrections · takedowns@humena.org
Partner submissions (confidential) · partners@humena.org