Moroccan “journalist” Driss Farhane–who runs the Chorok News24 website, which is known for being hostile to Moroccan institutions–has been arrested and placed in the Brescia Prison in Italy following an arrest warrant issued by the Casablanca court, Italian news agency Ansa reported on Thursday.
According to the agency, the 59-year-old Farhane, who has resided in Italy for more than 30 years, is accused of attempted illegal immigration.
Morocco requested Farhane’s extradition a year ago on a charge of defamation; however, Brescia’s Court of Appeals rejected it.
Farhane’s lawyer, Lorenzo Cinquepalmi, responded by asserting, “The law provides that the reasons for the arrest and extradition request must be filed within 40 days.”
Well-informed sources already indicated that Morocco’s National Criminal Investigation Department (BNPJ) has brought multiple individuals before the public prosecutor at the Casablanca Court of First Instance for their fundraising efforts on Farhane’s behalf. They include the following: Secretary General of the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad, Abdallah Boussouf–who is a member of the opposition Progress and Socialism Party’s (PPS) political bureau–and former head of the Hassan II Foundation for the Promotion of Social Works for the Public Health Sector; Saïd El Fekkak, the institution’s driver; Ibrahim Makhloufi; and Abdellatif Ouzzine.