Adnane and Dounia Filali’s Open Letter Exposes Political Harassment in France Under Moroccan Influence

✍️ BY: Dr. Hana Saada

Adnane and Dounia Filali, UN-recognized refugees and outspoken critics of the Moroccan regime, reveal alarming violations of justice and human rights by French authorities allegedly acting under pressure from Rabat.

Algiers, Algeria | May 22nd, 2025 — In a troubling new development that underscores the delicate intersection of geopolitics, press freedom, and human rights, Moroccan journalist-couple Adnane and Dounia Filali have issued a scathing open letter accusing French authorities of systematic persecution and flagrant disregard for judicial rulings under diplomatic pressure from Morocco.

The Filalis, known for their candid and often critical YouTube interviews and investigations concerning the Moroccan regime, hold official refugee status granted by both the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the French state. Despite this dual protection, they claim to be the targets of persistent administrative and judicial harassment in France.

According to the open letter dated May 22, the couple has faced continuous obstruction from the French Ministry of the Interior since 2023. This obstruction has taken the form of repeated refusals by the Paris prefecture to issue residency permits or identity documents, even after definitive court rulings mandating such actions. The pair asserts that all efforts to secure compliance—from themselves, their lawyers, and relevant legal bodies—have been met with either silence or retaliatory administrative measures, including unlawful deportation orders to Morocco.

“Our only proof of legality in France today are court decisions that we are forced to show as justification for our existence,” the couple wrote. “It is an outrageous denial of justice and a blatant abuse of power, in violation of the very principles France claims to uphold.”

Even more alarming is the claim that the Ministry of the Interior internally justified these actions through a confidential document which allegedly identifies the couple as a “danger to Franco-Moroccan relations.” If true, such a directive would suggest an official willingness to sacrifice individual rights on the altar of diplomatic expediency—raising serious questions about France’s adherence to the international principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the forced return of refugees to countries where they face threats to their life or freedom.

The Filalis, whose presence in France has already cost them access to employment, healthcare, banking services, and housing due to the absence of legal documentation, now warn that their physical safety could be in jeopardy. Their fears are not without precedent: other Moroccan dissidents, such as Zakaria Moumni—author of The Man Who Wanted to Speak to the King—have fled France for countries like Canada, citing threats to their life.

The open letter draws chilling historical parallels with the fate of Mehdi Ben Barka, a Moroccan opposition leader abducted in Paris in 1965 in what remains one of the most notorious cases of Franco-Moroccan collusion. It also references the so-called “Mamounia scandal” involving allegations of Moroccan influence over senior French officials.

“This is no longer an isolated incident,” the Filalis stress. “It is a systemic pattern of political persecution carried out under administrative guise, with judicial decisions deliberately ignored and the rule of law circumvented.”

They further accuse the French state of applying double standards—highlighting the contrast between their own treatment and the political asylum extended to certain individuals accused of terrorism by Algeria, whose extradition requests have reportedly been ignored by Paris.

The couple’s letter concludes with a plea to the media, political actors, and the international community to publicly denounce what they call an “abuse of state power” and a “violation of human dignity,” and to hold the French authorities accountable for failing to uphold the rights of internationally protected individuals.

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