Casablanca- A rumor currently circulating in national and international media accuses the Moroccan Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of mismanaging Embassy business and orchestrating a two-year campaign of slander and libel against a Moroccan citizen in Dubai who claims to be a journalist and member of an advisory council established by King Mohammed VI in charge of the Moroccan community abroad. He also claims to work for a major TV channel in the UAE.
In addition, the rumor accuses a female employee at Moroccan consulate in Dubai of bringing a "malicious complaint" against the Moroccan citizen.
Although the complaint was subsequently withdrawn, the complainant allegedly said she had lodged the complaint against the Moroccan journalist at the instruction of the Ambassador.
The Moroccan journalist claims that, “When withdrawing her complaint, the plaintiff confessed in writing to the public prosecution that she had initiated the case at the request of his Excellency the Ambassador.”
The Moroccan journalist says that it is in fact “the Moroccan Ambassador [who] holds a long-standing personal grudge against me.”He contends that “the Moroccan ambassador has launched a sordid campaign against me, aimed at tarnishing my reputation in the UAE.”
He adds that by filing the complaint, the Moroccan Ambassador has put the Moroccan Foreign Ministry in an embarrassing situation, as he did not obtain the proper clearance from the ministry to file a personal lawsuit. Moreover, he claims, the Ambassdor repeatedly told his superiors in Rabat that "he had nothing at all to do with this case.”
This version of the story has been widely published in several Moroccan news outlets, including newspapers, such as the daily Assabah. However, the Moroccan Ambassador has not been given the opportunity to provide his version of the facts or respond to the allegations.
MWN is among the media outlets contacted by the alleged journalistswho sent us the same news story in several emails and asked that his name not be revealed, since he is personally involved.
After an investigation over several days, MSN received information from several Moroccan journalists that the claims are probably a personal attempt by the alleged journalist to tarnish the Ambassador’s reputation. Several Moroccans residing in the UAE have suggested to MWN that the rumor circulated by the journalist is inaccurate and merely reflects a personal vendetta by the journalist against the Moroccan Ambassador.
MWN has also received many emails from journalists in the UAE who say that the Moroccan journalist along with another journalist named Kamal Ryan submitted articles for publication anonymously to many news outlets in which they asserted that a recent exposition held in UAE had “failed because of the Moroccan Ambassador.”
MWN’s investigations suggest that the claimed Moroccan journalist harbors a personal grudge against the Moroccan Ambassador and that the journalist has sent similar articles to many prominent Moroccan journalists under a pseudonym.
Edited by Elisabeth Myers
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