Morocco's foreign ministry summoned the US ambassador on Wednesday to express anger over a "scandalous" State Department report on human rights in the North African kingdom.

The ministry said in a statement it protested to the ambassador, Dwight Bush, over "manipulation and flagrant factual errors" in the report released on April 13.

It questioned "the true aims and motivation" behind the critical report.

"Morocco is a state of institutions and has national structures whose credibility and seriousness are widely acknowledged," the ministry said.

"Serious allegations such as those contained in the State Department report give the impression that these institutions do not fulfil their duties."

It said Morocco was "ready to go all the way to confront" the charges in the report, point by point, before the relevant US authorities.

On Tuesday, the interior ministry branded the report "scandalous" and said Rabat had already in past years complained to Washington over the "biased character" of the annual State Department country reports on human rights.

In the latest report, the State Department highlights alleged "corruption and widespread disregard for the rule of law by security forces" in Morocco.

"The government abridged civil liberties by infringing on freedom of speech and press, including by harassing and arresting of print and Internet journalists," it charged.
The report also pointed to "few examples and no high-profile reports of investigations or prosecutions of abuse or corruption by officials".