Attacks on the Press in 2008: Morocco
Morocco continued to backslide on press freedom as independent journalists and news outlets were targeted in a series of politicized court cases. In May, the National Syndicate for Moroccan Press noted a “dangerous trend” in which authorities were “imposing exaggerated fines in defamation cases, resorting to preventive arrest of journalists … banning newspapers and instructing…
Bloggers support Morocco’s Mohamed Erraji
Bloggers across the Web are showing their solidarity with Mohamed Erraji, a Moroccan blogger who was sentenced to two years in prison last week for “failing to show respect for the king.” A Moroccan court convicted Erraji, 29, a contributor to HesPress, a Moroccan daily news Web site, on Monday in a closed, 10-minute trial.…
Morocco should allow Al-Jazeera to resume Rabat broadcast
New York, May 7, 2008—Moroccan authorities should immediately reverse this week’s decision to prevent Al-Jazeera from broadcasting its evening roundup of regional news and views from Rabat, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On Tuesday, the Moroccan National Agency for Telecom Technical Regulation notified Al-Jazeera that the frequency it had used for the Rabat-based…
Journalist goes on hunger strike in Morocco jail
New York, May 2, 2008–To mark World Press Freedom Day, Moroccan journalist Mustafa Hormatallah began a three-day hunger strike today to protest his imprisonment in Casablanca, while journalists led by the National Syndicate of the Moroccan Press planned to stage a sit-in on Saturday.
Journalist goes on hunger strike in Morocco jail
New York, May 2, 2008—To mark World Press Freedom Day, Moroccan journalist Mustafa Hormatallah began a three-day hunger strike today to protest his imprisonment in Casablanca, while journalists led by the National Syndicate of the Moroccan Press planned to stage a sit-in on Saturday. Hormatallah, a journalist with the independent weekly Al-Watan Al An,…
Morocco’s Supreme Court upholds journalist’s 7-month jail sentence
New York, February 21, 2008—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the Moroccan Supreme Court’s decision to uphold a seven-month jail sentence against journalist Mustafa Hormatallah. Hormatallah, a member of the editorial board of the Moroccan weekly Al-Watan Al An, was convicted in August 2007 of possession of stolen documents. The conviction concerned an…
Attacks on the Press 2007: Morocco
MOROCCO Press freedom continued its downward slide, belying Morocco’s carefully burnished image as a liberalizing country with a free press. Outspoken journalists found themselves in court, in prison, or out of work following a rash of politicized court cases, while the government of King Mohammed VI unveiled a restrictive new press bill. On May 3,…
Press Freedom in Morocco
Press Freedom in Morocco A CPJ event co-hosted by the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press Washington, September 21, 2007–U.S. congressmen emphasized the need for an open and free press in Morocco at an event hosted today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Diplomats from the Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian embassies were part of…