(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the harassment and intimidation of editor Brahim Fillali since he began publishing a new, local newspaper, “Ici et Maintenant” (“Here and Now”), in the southern city of Ouarzazate. The harassment has included a recent arson attack on the newspaper which the police refuse to investigate. “We call on the Moroccan […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has condemned the harassment and intimidation of editor Brahim Fillali since he began publishing a new, local newspaper, “Ici et Maintenant” (“Here and Now”), in the southern city of Ouarzazate. The harassment has included a recent arson attack on the newspaper which the police refuse to investigate.
“We call on the Moroccan authorities to respond to the complaint brought by Brahim Fillali and to quickly apprehend those responsible for setting fire to his newspaper,” the organisation said, adding, “It is unacceptable that a journalist be unable to work freely and fear for his physical safety.”
The intimidation began with a threatening letter on 26 November 2004, just after Fillali had brought out the third issue of “Ici et Maintenant”. Then, on 3 June 2005, he received an oral summons from the criminal investigation department of the Ouarzazate gendarmerie, during which he was accused of writing about matters “affecting Moroccan institutions and national integrity.” He ignored both warnings.
Finally, on 23 June, the newspaper’s premises were set on fire. Fillali immediately tried to file a complaint with the gendarmerie in Msemrir, but the police there refused to register it. The officer in charge said the investigation could not begin until Fillali identified a suspect – a position contrary to all logic and conventional procedure in police investigation.
Published every two weeks and containing articles in both French and Arabic, “Ici et Maintenant” is independent and self-financed. It has been clearly committed to covering human rights and other sensitive issues in the Ouarzazate area, including police violence against the population of Tinghir and a miners’ strike in Imini.
Fillali attributes the harassment to the fact that his newspaper sided with the miners in Imini in their strike against the mine’s management over alleged embezzlement. He told RSF he now fears for his life.
