BY: Hana Saada
ALGIERS- Two Moroccan journalists, Dounia and Adnane Filali, have been denied asylum in France despite fleeing violence and persecution from the Makhzen regime in their home country. The journalists had settled in France to escape the policy of persecution they faced due to their reviews and investigations of corruption involving the Moroccan regime. However, the French authorities refused their request for asylum, according to documents accessed by the online media outlet “El Español”.
The decision to refuse asylum had been taken before the couple’s interview with the French Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless Persons (OFPRA), which was supposed to decide on their request for refugee status. The French authorities were found to have bowed to pressure from Morocco, violating international refugee law and rejecting all asylum applications from the two journalists. The Moroccan regime had launched a media campaign of demonization against the journalists, accusing them of money laundering, drug trafficking, anti-Semitism, and having connections with Iran and Hezbollah.
To avoid being deported to Morocco, where their safety and integrity were at risk, the two journalists began a hunger strike to denounce France’s disregard for its republican values.
On Friday, June 2, the hunger strike of Dounia and Adnane Filali began, and they took to Twitter to announce their decision. In their tweet, they stated that they had no other option but to resort to a hunger strike to fight against the unbearable oppression they were facing at the hands of the French authorities. They underlined that the French authorities were working in collaboration with the Moroccan regime, and their fundamental rights as political refugees and human beings were being deprived.
The journalists released a press statement, detailing the reasons for their hunger strike and the steps they had taken with the authority responsible for refugee affairs in France. They declared that they would only end their hunger strike when their rights as political refugees were respected, and they felt safe. They called upon human rights advocacy organizations and democratic countries to support them in their quest for resettlement in a safe country that respected their rights, dignity, and freedom of expression, in accordance with the Geneva Convention.
According to E-bourse newspaper, Dounia and Adnane Filali claimed to have recently obtained confidential documents that proved the French authorities’ intention to persecute them in collaboration with the Moroccan authorities. They urged the French authorities to enforce international laws and conventions instead of prioritizing their bilateral relations with Morocco.
These documents serve as confirmation of the statements made by two journalists, who have accused the French authorities of attempting to silence them in order to maintain bilateral relations between the two countries. The journalists have also denounced the defamation charges brought against them, which they believe to be a tactic employed by the Moroccan regime to force them out of their native country.
This revelation is in line with the findings of a special commission of the European Parliament and various human rights advocacy organizations, which have already condemned the use of the Pegasus spy program by the Moroccan regime to monitor journalists and activists both within and outside of the country. The journalists in question have emphasized the urgent need for increased protection of human rights defenders and journalists in Morocco, who risk their lives to inform the public.
Recent reports have brought to light a number of concerning abuses in Morocco, including the imprisonment of a former Minister of Human Rights for simply expressing his personal opinion on the affairs of the royal palace. This is a clear violation of basic human rights and a worrying sign of the repressive regime’s disregard for freedom of speech.
Furthermore, the recent normalization of relations between Morocco and the Zionist Entity, on December 22, 2020, has marked a major change for the Makhzen regime in terms of monitoring and spying on its opponents. The agreement has notably affected the military and security domains, leading to more aggressive and immoral secret operations of influence and Moroccan propaganda. These tactics are directed towards denigrating internal opposition and demonizing voices that are seen as dissenting or external rivals.
It is deeply concerning to see such blatant disregard for human rights and freedom of expression in Morocco. The normalization agreement with Israel should not be used as an excuse to further suppress dissent and opposition.
Given the antecedents of the Makhzen in the registry of political prisoners and prisoners of conscience serving lengthy prison sentences, as well as the attacks and campaigns of persecution targeting others to silence them in European countries in the face of strange government silence, opponents are increasingly fearful for their lives.
Adnane and Dounia Filali have exposed several cases of corruption in Morocco through their investigations. This has exposed them to attacks and systematic intimidation. They were the first to raise the alarm about Morocco’s use of Zionist spyware for the unlawful collection of data and phone tapping of people without their knowledge, before the Pegasus affair broke out thanks to the revelations of the international consortium of journalists’ investigation “Forbidden Stories”.
Recently, they uncovered yet another spy scandal involving the Zionist company “Team Jorge,” as reported by Forbidden Stories. Through their extensive journalistic investigation, Dounia and Adnan Filali revealed shocking details about this Zionist firm, which specializes in misinformation and manipulating public opinion by generating and publishing large volumes of derogatory content on social media platforms. This indicates Rabat’s apparent desire to expand its influence campaign and intensify its cooperation with Zionist secret services, posing a serious threat to Maghreb and European countries. In fact, the Moroccan DGED went so far as to spy on the phone of French President Emmanuel Macron.
Dounia and Adnan Filali have become well-known figures in Morocco, followed by hundreds of thousands of people, since their 2016 revelations and investigations into the corruption and repression organized by the Makhzen regime. After spending several years in China, they decided to seek political asylum in France at the end of July 2021, following an assassination attempt in their Chinese home. The Moroccan secret services have been relentlessly pursuing them since November 2020, when they exposed the surveillance and espionage carried out by the Moroccan secret services via cameras placed in hotel rooms. This was long before the Pegasus affair, shedding light on the methods of blackmail and pressure employed by the regime’ secret services against those who oppose them.
To prevent the couple of journalists from obtaining refugee status, which would provide them with international protection, and to influence French immigration authorities to extradite them, the Moroccan regime has launched a fierce media campaign against them. Despite this, Dounia and Adnan Filali remain steadfast in their pursuit of truth and justice.