morocco

Journalists worked in precarious conditions in which they were subjected to politicized criminal charges and censorship from government officials. A harsh press law set restrictions on coverage of the presidency, state security, and religion. Authorities kept particularly tight control on coverage of an insurgency led by tribal and religious figures in the northwestern Saada region.

January 2009News from the Committee to Protect Journalists

Dear President-elect Obama: I am writing as chairman of the Committee to Protect Journalists to seek your leadership in reaffirming America’s role as a staunch defender of press freedom throughout the world. Journalists in many countries who risk their lives and liberty upholding the values of free expression look to the United States for support.

By Robert Mahoney This year, for the first time, online writers form the largest group among imprisoned journalists guardian.co.ukDecember 11, 2008If you are reading this online you are probably not in one of the countries – more than two dozen of them – that actively filter or block internet content. You’re lucky. But don’t take…

New York, November 4, 2008–CPJ is deeply concerned by the decisions of the Moroccan, Tunisian, and Algerian‎ governments to ban the new issue of L’Express magazine carrying a series of articles about Islam and Christianity.

New York, October 31, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Moroccan appeals court decision to uphold heavy damages and a fine against an editor of a leading independent daily in a defamation case, which could force the paper to close.

Today a group of Web companies, human rights organizations, academics, and investors seeded the ground for what they hope will be greater protection for online users in Internet-restricting countries. Whether the Global Network Initiative grows into an effective shield for online journalists and bloggers will depend on the implementation of the voluntary principles that lie…

Tunisia wants you to believe it is a progressive nation that protects human rights. It is, in fact, a police state that aggressively silences anyone who challenges President Ben Ali.

New York, September 18, 2008–The Committee to Protect Journalists welcomes a Moroccan court decision today that overturns a two-year prison sentence and a fine against blogger and journalist Mohamed Erraji. On September 9, the court in Agadir, in southwest Morocco, convicted Erraji in a 10-minute trial¸ sentencing him to prison and a fine of 5,000…

Tunisia’s media, one of the most muzzled in the Arab world, reported for the first time a couple weeks ago that a high-ranking U.S. official had raised the issue of reform with the country’s autocratic ruler, who is also a zealous supporter of President George W. Bush’s war on terror. The official was Secretary of…