Report on Media in Morocco - Arab Center for the Rule of Law and ...

- Moreover, judgments pronounced against newspapers and journalists were
another weapon, and it was clear that it was targeting the freedom of the press:
In 2000, the judgment against the weekly "Le Journal" in the Moroccan
Foreign Minister's case 41 caused great turmoil in the Moroccan media,
especially in terms of the large sum that the mentioned newspaper had to
pay 42 .
In 2003, a few journalists were convicted in different cases. After being
accused of "defamation of the sacred issues", journalist Ali al-Murabit, the
manager of "Demain" magazine was sentenced to four years of effective
imprisonment. He served seven months after going on a hunger strike of more
than 40 days. His magazine was also banned.
Furthermore, after publishing an article of one of the "Afghan Moroccans", the
director of "Moroccan Life (al-Hayat al-Maghribiyyah)" newspaper, Mustafa
Qishni, and director of the "Orient (al-Sharq)" newspaper, Mohammed al-
Hard, both published in the city of Wajda, found themselves before harsh
rulings 43 . This was parallel to the constraints on the freedoms after the events
of May 16, 2003 in Casablanca.
In an event linked to these events, the publishing of a letter attributed to a
movement known as the "al-Saiqa" (Thunderbolt) which claimed
responsibility of these events, cost the veteran Moroccan journalist, Mustafa
al-Alawi, director of "al-Osboo'" (The Week), one month of detention before
he was sentenced for 2 months of imprisonment with stay of execution of the
sentence.
If the issuance thereafter of a royal pardon with respect to the detained journalists
seemed to be the beginning of a period of easing tensions between the State and the
press, the said period did not last long, as collective restrictions were imposed again
on the press. The said new restrictions developed the way the State dealt with the
press. Banning newspapers or detaining journalists was no longer the State's weapon
in this regard, but other methods were created. Except for the case of the director of
the "Akhbar al-Osboo'" (Week's News), who was sentenced to six months of
imprisonment, as he was accused of publishing news that accused a minister of sexual
perversion 44 , the rulings in the following cases had other forms.
In a Moroccan precedent, in 2005, journalist Ali al-Murabit (correspondent of Spanish
daily "Il Mondo") was banned from writing for 10 years. At the end of the same year,
a series of cases were filed against a number of independent newspapers. Two
judgments were pronounced against "Tel Qu'il" magazine during the same period. The
first one stipulated that it pay 800,000.000 Dirhams, and the second imposed a fine of
41 This case is attributed to a story covered by the mentioned newspaper regarding financial
manipulations in selling the headquarters of the Moroccan Embassy in Washington, where the current
Foreign Minister Mohammed Bin Issa was the Ambassador of Morocco.
42 The ruling of the Court of First Instance obliged "Le Journal" to pay 2 million Dirhams ($200,000)
before reducing this sum during the appeal stage to 700,000 Dirhams ($70,000).
43 The first was sentenced to one year of imprisonment, and his weekly was suspended for three
months. As for the second, he was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, and his weekly was
suspended for 3 months.
44 This case caused wide dispute, not because Anas al-Tadli, director of this newspaper, was accused of
publishing news that accused Finance Minister Fathallah Walalo of sexual perversion, but to activate
another old case against him; a file that is so old and related to his customs duty evasion.