Attacks on the Press 2006: Analysis: As Democracy Falters, Arab Press Still Pushes for Freedom
Across the Middle East, political reform gained momentum in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003. Egyptiansand Lebanese clamored for democracy; elections in Iraq, Palestine, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia offered a more pluralistic future. In a number of Arab countries, the…
Prominent Moroccan publisher resigns in bid to save weekly
New York, January 18, 2007—The publisher of Morocco’s independent weekly Le Journal Hebdomadaire resigned today in a move designed to shield the magazine from the record damages he was ordered to pay last year in a controversial defamation suit. Aboubakr Jamaï, publisher of the groundbreaking weekly, announced at a press conference in Casablanca that he…
Moroccan court convicts Nichane journalists, shutters publication
New York, January 16, 2007—The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns a Moroccan court’s decision on Monday to sentence two independent journalists to suspended jail terms and close their magazine for two months. The Casablanca court handed down three-year suspended sentences to Driss Ksikes, director and editor of the independent weekly Nichane, and reporter Sanaa al-Aji…
Facing record damages, Moroccan weeklys survival in doubt
New York, December 28, 2006—The publisher of the independent Moroccan weekly Le Journal Hebdomadaire and a former reporter have been ordered to pay the record damages awarded earlier this year in a controversial defamation suit. Publisher Aboubakr Jamaï said the award could jeopardize the magazine’s survival. Jamaï told CPJ that two court officials visited Le…
Magazine banned over religious jokes
New York, December 22, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by the banning in Morocco of an independent magazine and the charges brought against its director and a reporter for publishing an article analyzing popular jokes about religion, sex, and politics. Driss Ksikes, the publisher and director of the weekly magazine Nichane, and reporter…
Appeals court upholds record damages against independent weekly
New York, April 19, 2006—The Committee to Protect Journalists is alarmed by a Moroccan appeals court decision to uphold record damages against the independent magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire in a defamation suit brought by a Belgian think tank. The magazine, which said it was prevented from mounting a proper defense, now faces bankruptcy. The weekly,…
CPJ calls on Moroccan king to probe government-organized protests against magazine
Your Majesty: The Committee to Protect Journalists is deeply concerned by evidence that Moroccan authorities played a role in organizing demonstrations against the magazine Le Journal Hebdomadaire for publishing a photograph of a French newspaper showing some of the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. These state-orchestrated protests placed the lives of the entire staff of the Casablanca-based weekly at risk, yet the government has failed to launch a credible investigation or call those responsible to account.