Morocco: Conviction of imprisoned journalist upheld
New York, June 17, 2003—The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is alarmed by the decision of an appeals court in Morocco’s capital, Rabat, to uphold journalist Ali Lmrabet’s May 21 criminal conviction, which resulted in his imprisonment and the banning of his magazines. According to Lmrabet’s lawyer, the court decided to reduce the prison sentence…
Attacks on the Press 2002: Morocco
After Morocco’s King Muhammad assumed the throne in 1999, the press continued a trend toward aggressive reporting that had begun during the final two years of the rule of his father, the late King Hassan II. However, a number of official restrictions imposed on the press during the last three years have tempered optimism about…
Attacks on the Press 2001: Morocco
When he assumed the throne in 1999, 38-year-old King Muhammad VI kindled hopes that he would usher in a period of greater political freedom in Morocco. The independent press continued to push the limits of free expression–and just as quickly found them. In 2001, as in previous years, Moroccan authorities used criminal prosecutions, censorship, and…
Attacks on the Press 2000: Morocco
CENSORSHIP, PROFESSIONAL BANNINGS, AND CRIMINAL PROSECUTIONS were among the official acts that eroded press freedom in Morocco in 2000, reversing gains seen in the final two years of the late King Hassan II’s reign, and following the 1999 coronation of his son, the liberal-minded King Muhammed VI. In December, the government permanently banned the weekly…
Morocco: Censorship, criminal prosecution of journalists on the rise
Your Excellency: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is gravely concerned about government restrictions on press freedom in Morocco this year. During the past four months, Moroccan authorities have taken several punitive measures against the press, including the censorship of newspapers and the criminal prosecution of journalists.
Attacks on the Press 1999: Morocco
Press freedom appeared to benefit when Muhammad VI ascended the Moroccan throne in July, following the death of his father, King Hassan II, who had ruled for 38 years. The easing of self-censorship, which began in earnest after the formation of the government of Prime Minister Abdel Rahman Youssefi in 1998, accelerated thanks to the…
Mahoney: Biden’s Saudi policy stymies quest for Khashoggi justice
From pariah to potential partner. That’s how far Saudi Arabia has come for President Joe Biden in the five years since Riyadh sent a death squad to butcher journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The administration’s ongoing rehabilitation of the petrodollar kingdom and its de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, widely known as MBS, seems to…
CPJ joins calls for humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza war
The Israel-Gaza conflict continues to exact a devastating toll on civilians—including journalists. More than 4,000 people have died on both sides since October 7, including hundreds killed in the October 17 hospital blast in Gaza, and the conflict has widened to neighboring Lebanon.
Moroccan authorities briefly arrest journalist Abdelmjid Amyay, ban Abdellatif al-Hamamouchi from traveling
On October 5, 2023, Moroccan police arrested journalist Abdelmjid Amyay, director of local independent news website Chams Post, at a coffee shop in the northeastern city of Oujda and detained him for one night for sharing articles about corruption in the city on his personal Facebook page, according to news reports. The following day, authorities…