Lawyer Karima Salama was elected as the head of the Moroccan Anti-Defamation and Extortion Observatory, along with the rest of the executive office and parallel committees, at the Observatory’s founding general assembly meeting in Rabat on Tuesday.
Salama stressed that the meeting was an opportunity to raise several issues related to defamation and blackmail, the files before the judiciary, and the need to clarify methods by which to curb the phenomenon and facilitate victims’ access to justice.
The Observatory will serve as a civil body that will contribute to tackling all forms of improper use of social media by creating several functional committees, including monitoring and analysis, sensitization and rehabilitation, guidance and mediation, listening, accompaniment and psychological support, judicial assistance, consultation and advocacy, research and study, cooperation and partnership, with the possibility of creating thematic committees.
The institution will launch an online platform to address all forms of improper use of defamation, spreading fake news, and violating the rights of individuals and institutions in the digital space.
Through this platform, the Observatory will work to strengthen the position of the victim and provide legal support and accompaniment.
Aware of the transnational nature of the crimes of defamation, blackmail, and dissemination of fake news, the Observatory is determined to combat this phenomenon and turn to the competent authorities and bodies internationally, with the aim of providing judicial support in facilitating proper access to justice.
The Observatory was created on March 30, during a conference on “Defamation and Just National Causes: From Constraint to Opportunity,” organized by news website Barlamane.com, with Minister of Communication Mohamed Mehdi Bensaïd, and a number of researchers, legal experts, and figures from various backgrounds in attendance.