The Canadian Superior Court in Montreal ordered former Moroccan kickboxer Zakaria Moumni on Tuesday to pay $30,000 Canadian to Rachid Najahi, CEO of the Atlas Media group, for derogatory comments made against him in public, according to a press release issued by the CEO.
The case arose from the July 29, 2022 celebration of the Moroccan Throne Day held in Montreal which over 10,000 people in attendance.
Zakaria Moumni disrupted the gathering, making derogatory remarks against the organizer and others, whom he derided among other things as “servants of Moroccan power.”
The kickboxer asserted that Najahi functioned as a “paid agent” of the Moroccan regime and that the Throne Day Celebration in Montreal was a “propaganda project” sponsored by Morocco.
In finding Moumni liable, the Canadian court rejected these claims, finding that the event was self-financed and had received no institutional or government funding.
Moumni will have to pay Najahi $20,000 for reputational damage and $10,000 in punitive damages.
Following Tuesday’s judgement, Najahi stated, “This decision protects the rights and dignity of individuals.”
Moumni was also accused of assaulting three participants at the 2022 Throne Day celebration.