Morocco

*Updates IFEX alerts of 15 and 4 May 2000* (CPJ/IFEX) – In a 17 May 2000 letter to King Muhammad VI, CPJ expressed grave concern about government restrictions on press freedom in Morocco during the year 2000. During the past four months, Moroccan authorities have taken punitive measures against the press, including the censorship of […]

(RSF/IFEX) – The following is a 12 May 2000 RSF press release: Seven newspapers censored, two journalists forbidden to write RSF launches an appeal to Mohammed VI for the respect of press freedom In recent months, seven Moroccan and foreign newspapers have been victims of censorship and two journalists are threatened with prison sentences and […]

(WAN/IFEX) – In a 3 May 2000 letter to Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi, WAN and the World Editors Forum expressed their serious concern at the sentencing to jail of journalists Khalid Mechbal and Mustapha Alaoui. According to reports, on 26 April, Alaoui, director of the Arab-language weekly “Al Ousboue”, was sentenced to three months’ imprisonment […]

In a 19 April 2000 letter to Prime Minister Abderrahamane Youssoufi, CPJ expressed its deep concern about the censorship of the French-language weekly newspaper “Le Journal” and its sister publication the Arabic weekly “Al-Sahiffa”, as well as the dismissal of three employees from television station 2M. On 15 April 2000, Moroccan airport police informed staff […]

In a letter to Communications Minister Mohammed Larbi Messari, RSF protested the dismissal of three directors of the second public television station, 2M. The three directors are Larbi Belarbi, Mustapha Mellouk and Mohammed Mamad. RSF asked the minister to “reverse his decision”. RSF Secretary-General Robert Ménard added: “We regret that the security reflexes have reappeared […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi, RSF protested the ban on the two most recent issues of the weeklies “Le Journal” and “Assahifa”. Robert Ménard, the organisation’s secretary-general, asked the prime minister “to reconsider his decision concerning the ban on these weeklies.” RSF recalled that, since the beginning of the year, […]

The following is a 1 April 2000 CPJ press release: Internal Rift Interrupts Publication of New Moroccan Newspaper Editors Suspect Government Pressure is Behind Shareholder’s Refusal to Print the Paper New York, March 31, 2000-A hard-hitting new Moroccan political weekly has been prevented from printing its fourth edition by one of its shareholders, the Committee […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of Communications Mohammed Larbi Messari, RSF expressed its concern over “pressures that have been placed on shareholders of the Moroccan weekly ‘Demain’”. Robert Ménard, RSF’s secretary general, asked the minister “to find an explanation which will reassure him that the newspaper will remain independent.” According to information obtained […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Minister of the Interior Ahmed Midaoui, RSF protested the absence of the Saturday 4 March 2000 issue of French daily “Le Figaro” from Morrocan stores. RSF reminded the minister that a similar banning occurred on 15 February of one issue of the French weekly “Jeune Afrique-L’Intelligent”. RSF asked Midaoui […]

(RSF/IFEX) – In a letter to Prime Minister Aberrahmane Youssoufi, RSF has protested the ban on the 28 July 1999 edition of the French weekly “Le Canard enchaîné”, which was not circulated in Morocco. The newspaper had featured a front-page story on the death of King Hassan II. Expressing the view that “satirical criticism also […]

On 4 June 1996, the Moroccan artist Ahmed Sanoussi (previously written as “Snoussi”) was physically assaulted by police in Rabat as he was getting set to perform before a group of striking graduate university students. Sanoussi had to be later taken to hospital after being seriously wounded and left unconscious. Recommended Action Send appeals to […]