Driss Chahtan

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A Rabat court sentenced Chahtan, managing editor of the independent weekly Al-‎Michaal, to a year in jail for “publishing false information” about the health of King Mohammed VI during a period when the monarch had not been seen in public, ‎local journalists ‎told CPJ.‎ Police took the journalist into custody immediately ‎after the ruling.

The court also sentenced Al-Michaal reporters ‎Mostafa Hiran and ‎Rashid Mahameed ‎to three months in prison in connection with the September articles, but they were not immediately taken into custody. Defense attorneys told CPJ that the trial did not meet basic fairness standards, notably in the court’s refusal to allow the defense to summon witnesses.