Press Freedom in Morocco
Press Freedom in Morocco A CPJ event co-hosted by the Congressional Caucus for Freedom of the Press Washington, September 21, 2007–U.S. congressmen emphasized the need for an open and free press in Morocco at an event hosted today by the Committee to Protect Journalists. Diplomats from the Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian embassies were part of…
Casablanca court hands down prison sentences against two journalists
New York, August 15, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the prison sentences handed down today against two Moroccan journalists who published a secret government document about terrorist threats against Morocco. Abderrahim Ariri, publisher of the Moroccan weekly Al-Watan Al An, and Mustafa Hormatallah, a journalist for the paper, were convicted by a criminal court…
Morocco: Government confiscates newsweeklies, charges publisher
New York, August 6, 2007— The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns the Moroccan government’s seizure of the editions of two independent newsweeklies over the weekend. Authorities alleged that the magazines disrespected King Mohammed VI and violated public morality. On Saturday, Moroccan police seized copies of the Arabic-language weekly Nichane from newsstands and other locations around…
Moroccan journalists charged for publishing secret government documents
New York, July 24, 2007—Two Moroccan journalists detained for more than a week were charged today with possessing classified documents after they recently published secret government papers regarding terrorist threats against Morocco. The Casablanca public prosecutor charged Abderrahim Ariri, publisher of the Moroccan weekly Al-Watan Al An and Mustafa Hormatallah, a journalist for the paper,…
Morocco: Two journalists detained
New York, July 18, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply troubled by the detention of two Moroccan journalists who are being held for publishing secret government documents. Abderrahim Ariri, publisher of the Moroccan weekly Al-Watan Al An, and Mostafa Hormatallah, a journalist for the paper, were summoned for questioning by police in Casablanca yesterday…
The Moroccan Facade
Ahmed Reda Benchemsi, the 33-year-old publisher of the independent Moroccan weekly TelQuel, sensed someone was trying to send him a message. In a matter of months, two judges had ordered him to pay extraordinarily high damages in a pair of otherwise unremarkable defamation lawsuits.
Backsliders: The 10 countries where press freedom has most deteriorated
New York, May 2, 2007–Three nations in sub-Saharan Africa are among the places worldwide where press freedom has deteriorated the most over the last five years, a new analysis by the Committee to Protect Journalists has found. Ethiopia, where the government launched a massive crackdown on the private press by shutting newspapers and jailing editors,…