A Moroccan court on Friday sentenced activist Saida Alami to two years in prison, on charges including "insulting public officials" because of her Facebook posts, her defense told AFP.

Her lawyer, Souad Brahma, said that the Casablanca Court of First Instance "ruled the imprisonment of Alami (48 years) for two effective years and a fine of 5,000 dirhams (about $500)," noting that she would appeal the ruling.

The activist has been detained since March 23 as part of a prosecution on several charges, including “broadcasting and distributing false allegations and facts to people with the intent of defaming them” and “insulting public officials while carrying out their duties” against the background of her Facebook posts.

Moroccan human rights activists, as well as Amnesty International, have called for her release and dropping the prosecution, given that she is being tried for "expressing opinions." However, the court decided to convict her and rejected her defense requests to prosecute her on release.

Saida Alami was part of the "Coalition of Moroccan Women Against Political Detention,"  constantly expressing her criticism of the authorities on Facebook. It expressed its solidarity with the journalists known for their critical opinions, Taoufik Bouachrine, Suleiman Raissouni and Omar Radi, who are serving various prison sentences for "sexual assaults", as well as for "espionage" for the latter.

In a similar case, the Al Hoceima (North) Court of First Instance issued a four-year prison sentence on Monday against activist Rabih Al-Ablaq, for convicting him of "violating the due respect for the king", against the background of videos he posted on Facebook.

Local and international human rights organizations called for the prosecution against him to be dropped, given that what he issued was an "expression of opinions." He was not imprisoned because the verdict was preliminary.

In a statement in early April, Amnesty International called on the Moroccan authorities to "stop criminal investigations against human rights defenders, against the background of posts on social media," noting that at least four of them are on trial for criticizing the authorities through these sites.

However, the Rabat authorities always stress that the trials of journalists and opposition activists, which are criticized by human rights defenders, relate to criminal cases unrelated to freedom of expression, stressing the independence of the judiciary.