Raissouni's victim claims there are other cases similar to his own

Adam Ouch, one of the victims of Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni, arrested in 2020 for a sexual assault and released last July through a royal pardon, has responded in a YouTube video to an interview conducted by the Spanish media El Independiente with Raissouni.

Ouch states that he is not the only victim, stressing that there are other similar cases that have not yet been revealed. He cites as an example a sexual assault by Raissouni against a girl who was an intern at his newspaper in 2011, a fact that Ouch says relatives and friends of the journalist, whom he describes as a ‘misogynist’, have tried to cover up and completely silence. 
 

‘Raissouni is a deceitful person. Instead of presenting proof of his innocence, he hides and doesn't show his face. He pretends to be a victim and presents things that make no sense, just to appear innocent and to clean up his image’, Ouch points out, referring to the interview that the Spanish newspaper conducted with him. 

Ouch clarifies that he ‘has never asked for help outside Morocco’, and that he has only trusted the courts of the Kingdom, ‘who have done justice’. 

The young Moroccan also addresses the people who support Raissouni and speak of ‘objectivity and bias’. ‘Why don't you take a look at the evidence that I have presented to the court, could this journalist write such an article without contacting me, since I am a party to the case? 

‘But when it comes to Morocco, these people don't mind doing whatever they want without any objectivity, even going so far as to trample on the laws of the press,’ he points out, adding that Raissouni “is a person who believes his own lies”. 

Ouch recalls that during the trial he received several calls from human rights activists and some of his attacker's family members. She also says that many people have warned her about what could happen to her if she speaks out and reveals that she was a victim of assault. ‘I have received numerous threats and pressure to keep quiet,’ he says. 

However, Ouch stresses that she has now decided to come forward again to make her case known. ‘While several people persist in defending an imaginary and nonsensical version I cannot remain silent, I must tell the truth. these people cannot be considered human rights activists, on the contrary, they act according to their own personal interests instead of defending human rights values.’ 

‘I will not allow Raissouni to come now to play the hero and present himself as an activist, claiming that he is innocent of any accusation’, he concludes.

Moroccan police arrested Soulaimane Raissouni on 22 May 2020, one day after the complainant, under the pseudonym Adam Muhammed, shared his story with the police. Muhammed claimed that Raissouni sexually assaulted him in 2018 following an offer from Raissouni's wife to collaborate on a film related to the LGBTQ community.