Freed journalist Hajar Raissouni celebrates wedding to Sudanese activist in Morocco

Moroccan journalist Hajar Raissouni who was jailed for “premarital sex and having an abortion” celebrated on Saturday night her wedding to Sudanese human rights activist Rifaat al-Amin, a few weeks after leaving prison.

Raissouni was sentenced to one year in prison before being pardoned by King Mohammed VI.

Dozens of relatives and friends including former Moroccan Prime Minister Abdelilah Benkirane, Istiqlal party leader M’hamed El Khalifa, former royal palace spokesperson Hassan Aourid, and human rights activists attended the ceremony.

Read: To avoid export controls, Spain company classed military ships for Morocco as rescue vessels

The wedding took place after the Moroccan journalist, and her Sudanese fiance was able to complete the legal process for their mixed marriages, which takes more time than regular marriage between two Moroccan citizens.

Raissouni was arrested with her Sudanese fiancé as they left a gynaecologist’s clinic in the capital Rabat in August. At the time, she denied all the charges, saying she had sought treatment for internal bleeding.