(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced alarm over the recent resurgence of curbs on press freedom in Morocco following four separate violations in the past two weeks. “Moroccan journalists are free to work as long as they do not cross the line set by the Royal Palace. Three subjects have been clearly identified as off limits […]
(RSF/IFEX) – RSF has voiced alarm over the recent resurgence of curbs on press freedom in Morocco following four separate violations in the past two weeks.
“Moroccan journalists are free to work as long as they do not cross the line set by the Royal Palace. Three subjects have been clearly identified as off limits in three recent cases – internal affairs at the palace, the Western Sahara issue and the various kinds of trafficking in which senior officials are sometimes implicated. Journalists who do not censor themselves are severely punished,” the organisation noted.
“In 2004, the Moroccan authorities gave several encouraging signs as regards press freedom, but they have now backed away by clearly adopting a policy aimed at reining in journalists.”
“We call for an end to the use of the courts to silence critical journalists; secondly, for the police and judicial authorities to find and punish those who physically attacked journalist Abderrahmane Bensfaia; and finally for the palace to stop displaying such extreme irritability, most often in the form of threats,” RSF added.
On 12 April 2005, in the most recent of four cases, a Rabat court handed journalist Ali Lmrabet a 10-year ban on exercising his profession and a fine of 50,000 dirhams (approx. US$5,800; 4,500 euros) over a defamation suit prompted by remarks he made about Sahrawi refugees living in camps in Tindouf, southwestern Algeria (see IFEX alert of 13 April 2005).
In March, Hamid Naimi, the editor of the weekly “Kawaliss Rif” (“Stories of the Rif”), was convicted on several libel counts in Nador (550 km northeast of Rabat) in cases dating back to 1998. The cases had been closed but were reactivated after he published an article in November 2004 about the embezzlement of public funds by a number of Nador officials. A Nador court heard around 40 of these renewed complaints within a week and sentenced Naimi to a cumulative three-year prison term and a 40,000 euro (approx. US$51,260) fine.
Since launching his newspaper in 1996, Naimi has often incurred the wrath of the authorities, especially over his calls for independence for the Rif region.
On 22 March 2005, Abderrahmane Bensfaia, the El Jadida (200 km south of Rabat) correspondent for the national Arabic-language daily “Annahar Al Maghribiya” (“Moroccan Days”), was slapped and kicked by hired thugs employed by the owner of several local restaurants and bars. Bensfaia had been researching a report on tourism, notably sex tourism. He filed a complaint the same day. When reached by phone, however, he said the investigation was stalled as the authorities had not yet questioned his assailants.
In a separate case, the Arabic-language weekly “Al Jarida Al Oukhra” (“The Other Newspaper”) received a “warning” from Abdelhak El Mrini, the director of protocol at the Ministry of the Royal Family, after the paper ran a 6 April story about the daily activities of Princess Lalla Selma, the wife of King Mohammed VI. Mrini accused the newspaper of “meddling in the princess’s private life.” “Any information or news about the private life of members of the royal family fall strictly within the domain of the Ministry of the Royal Family and protocol,” he added.
“Al Jarida Al Oukhra” editor Ali Anouzla told RSF he did not believe his paper wrote any negative comments about the princess. On the contrary, he said, the story portrayed a woman who is close to her people and who perfectly combines tradition with modernity. “This letter has no legal basis,” he said. “Royal protocol is not qualified to judge the work of journalists, which is regulated by the law, not ancestral customs. This is the difference between the rule of law and a state of exception,” Anouzla added.
