Morocco
2018
Hundreds of journalists jailed globally becomes the new normal
For the third year in a row, 251 or more journalists are jailed around the world, suggesting the authoritarian approach to critical news coverage is more than a temporary spike. China, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia imprisoned more journalists than last year, and Turkey remained the world’s worst jailer. A CPJ special report by Elana Beiser
CPJ Safety Advisory: Pegasus spyware used to target journalists, civil society
[EDITOR’S NOTE: See CPJ’s updated safety advisory here https://cpj.org/2019/11/cpj-safety-advisory-journalist-targets-of-pegasus-.php.] In a report published on September 18, Citizen Lab said it had detected Pegasus, a spyware created for mobile devices, in over 45 countries. Pegasus, which transforms a cellphone into a mobile surveillance station, could have been deployed against a range of journalists and civil society…
Moroccan court sentences two journalists to several years in prison
New York, July 3, 2018–Moroccan authorities should immediately release journalists Mohamed al-Asrihi and Hamid al-Mahdaoui and drop all charges against them, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. The Casablanca Court of Appeals sentenced al-Asrihi on June 26 to five years in prison and a fine of 2,000 Moroccan dirhams (US$210), according to news reports;…
Critical Moroccan journalist arrested on several charges
Moroccan police on February 23, 2018 arrested Taoufik Bouachrine, a columnist and the publisher of Akhbar al-Youm, at the newspaper’s headquarters in Casablanca on charges including human trafficking, sexual assault, rape, prostitution, and harassment, according to his lawyers, outlets, and news reports.
Moroccan court convicts local publisher of criminal defamation
New York, February 14, 2018–Moroccan authorities should drop all charges against Akhbar al-Youm columnist and publisher Taoufik Bouachrine on appeal, and allow him to work without fear of reprisal, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.