Saida EL Alami
Saida El Alami is a woman human rights defender and blogger from Morocco who has been engaging in social media and peaceful protests to denounce the abuse of power, corruption, and the repression of freedom of expression and opinion. Arrested in 2022 and sentenced in two separate cases to a total of three years in prison and a fine, Saida EL Alami was granted a royal pardon and released in July 2024. Despite the imprisonment, her commitment to justice and freedom remained unwavering.
In response to the February 2011 pro-reform protests in Morocco, inspired by sister movements in Egypt and Tunisia, King Mohammed VI promised reform, including the “strengthening of human rights in all their dimensions, political, economic, social, cultural, environmental, and developmental”. The new constitution, which was voted in by the country’s electorate in July 2011, prohibited torture and ill treatment, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances, guaranteed greater equality for women and introduced other positive legal reforms.
