New York,
October 16, 2009—The Committee to Protect Journalists
strongly condemns the decision of a A Rabat misdemeanor court
sentenced Driss Chahtan to a year in jail and Al-Michaal journalists Mostafa Hiran and
Rashid Mahameed to three months in prison and a 5,000 dirham (US$655) fine
each for “intentionally publishing false information” in a number of articles
about King Mohammed VI’s health, local journalists Immediately after the court ruling, around two dozen
policemen stormed the Casablanca-based offices of Al-Michaal and arrested Chahtan, journalists told CPJ. Lahbib
Mohamed Haji, one of the newspaper’s lawyers told CPJ that the arrest
violated the country's penal code, saying that the public prosecutor “had no
legal basis to request the imprisonment after the court issued its
decision.” Haji said he has appealed the ruling. Neither Hiran nor Mahameed
have been detained. “These jail terms are part of a disturbing trend of
repression of critical journalism in Al-Michaal’s
articles on the king’s health were published in early September. A few days
before, staffers at the independent daily Al-Jarida al-Oula were interrogated by
police for publishing on the same topic. Editor Ali Anouzla and journalist
Bochra Daou have been ordered to appear at the Cases against independent newspapers have been rising over
the past few months. On Wednesday, a Right after Akhbar
al-Youm published the
cartoon, the Ministry of Interior issued a statement accusing the independent
daily of a “blatant disrespect to a member of the royal family” during a
“private wedding ceremony organized by the royal family.” Editor Taoufik
Bouachrine and cartoonist Kalid Kadar have to appear before a On
September 29, police prevented staffers
of Akhbar
al-Youm from
entering their offices in In late July, CPJ sent a
letter to King Mohammed VI expressing disappointment with the continued use of
the courts to suppress freedom of expression and impose excessive fines on
critical journalists in
- October 16, 2009 2:51 PM ET
- Short URLhttps://cpj.org/x/35ae
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