The release of Mustafa Hormatallah, a Moroccan editor at the
independent weekly Al-Watan Al An, prompted
a memorable scene on July 25 as he exited Akacha Prison in Casablanca, Morocco's
most populous and business-oriented city.
Scores of well-wishers including relatives, friends, and
representatives of the of the National Syndicate of the Moroccan Press and
human rights groups flocked early that Friday morning to this notorious prison to
greet Hormatallah as he took his first steps toward freedom. They gave him a
warm welcome after his eight months of captivity for practicing independent
journalism. At 9:45 a.m. local time, he emerged from the gate of what he called
a "cemetery for the living."