RABAT, April 30, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - A Moroccan appeal court on Tuesday upheld a one year jail term ordered against an Islamist found guilty of making offensive comments against Saudi Arabia, his lawyer told AFP.

Mohamed Boustati is a member of an Islamist association, Al Adl Wal Ihssane, that is not legal but is tolerated by Moroccan authorities.

He was detained in February following a complaint by the Saudi intelligence service about comments made online, according to his lawyer Mohamed Nouini.

A lower court sentenced Boustati in March. His lawyer, Mohamed Nouini, called the latest order by an appeal court in Casablanca "unjust".

Nouini said the comments on Facebook were critical of Arab countries position on the Gaza war and countries which had normalised ties with Israel. Boustati had denied writing some of the comments and said his Facebook account had been pirated.

The appeal court ruled that the comments were "defamatory" however.

Another Al Adl Wal Ihssane member was jailed for two years in March for inciting hatred on Facebook.

Prosecutors said the man had supported a knife attack carried out in Israel. Al Adl Wal Ihssane has backed Hamas Palestinian militants in their war with Israel since the October 2023 attacks.