Caselist - PEN International

86MOROCCOImprisoned: main caseRachid NINI: editor of the daily newspaper Almasae, one of Morocco’sleading newspapers, and owner of Al-Massae Media Group. Sentence: oneyear. Charges: “undermining a judicial decision”, “attempting to influencea judicial decision” and “reporting on untrue criminal offences” under variousarticles of the penal code. Expires: June 2012. Prison: Okasha prison,Casablanca. Arrest and detention: Arrested on 28 April 2011, Nini wassentenced to one year in prison and a 1,000 dirham (88 euro) fine on 9 June2011. Reasons for arrest: Nini’s arrest followed his publication of severalarticles criticizing the counter-terrorism practices of the Moroccan securityservices, including prison sentences handed down after unfair trials againstIslamists. He is frequently critical of government policies in his articlesand has written about widespread corruption among government officials.He has often called for the repeal of Morocco’s anti-terrorism law and forincreased political freedom. Trial and appeal: the Court of Appeal assigned11 August 2011 as the date of the first appeal session in Casablanca. Theappeal hearing was adjourned until 25 August 2011 at the request of thedefence lawyers who asked for additional time to study the case. The courtrefused Nini’s provisional release, where he could have been tried whilstfree. The Court of Appeal adjourned the appeal again, until 27 September2011. On 24 October 2011, the Court of Appeal upheld a one-year prisonsentence and fine of 1,000 dirhams (90 euros). Prison conditions: The editorbegan a hunger strike on 13 June 2011 in protest at prison conditions.He was demanding access to the mosque to pray, to paper and pen and tobe able to call his family. He also complained of constant searches of hispersonal belongings by prison authorities. The General directory of MoroccanPrisons refused on 9 August to grant permission to several local humanrights NGOs and Unionists to visit Nini. Nini’s requests to be moved to thethe Student Ward and also to have access to writing tools and to a telephone,were denied. Background: Nini’s prosecution comes despite promises ofpolitical and human rights reforms made by King Mohammed VI in Marchin response to demonstrations since 20 February inspired by the events inTunisia, Egypt and Libya. According to Nini’s sister, Noura, the editor isthe main breadwinner for his family, including six siblings, his mother andhis 11-year-old daughter. [RAN 32/11 and updates]Imprisoned: investigation*Mustapha ABD DAIEM: writer and journalist and Saharawi activistfrom the Western Sahara (territory disputed between Morocco, which hascontrolled most of the region since 1976, and the Algerian-backed PolisarioFront). Abd Daiem is a former reporter for Moroccan newspapers El Watan,Al Alam Assiyasi and Al Ahdath and a member of the Saharawi Journalistsand Writers Union (UPES) and the Assa-Zag Branch of the MoroccanAssociation for Human Rights. Arrest and detention: Abd Daiem wasarrested without a warrant at his home in the city of Assa in southern Moroccoon 27 October 2008. His arrest followed anti-government protests inAssa earlier that day by Sahrawi members of the population calling for thecreation of employment opportunities and the right of the Sahrawi peopleto self-determination. Abd Daiem says he did not take part in the protestsbut that when he heard that Moroccan law enforcement officers had brokenup the protests and raided some Saharawi homes in the city, he lowered theMoroccan flag in the secondary school where he worked as a security guardas a mark of solidarity with the victims. He also says he released the pupilsfrom the school in order to allow them to go and help their families. Accordingto Abd Daiem, his interrogation by the police included questioningabout his writings and political views. Trial and sentence: On 4 November2008, Abd Daiem was found guilty of offending the Moroccan flag,rebelling and inciting an armed gathering, participating in the destructionof public property and participating in the contempt of public officials onduty. He was sentenced to three years in prison and was also fined 50,000dirhams (approx. US$6,220) and banned from teaching or working in anyeducational institution for 10 years. Abd Daiem claims that the record ofhis questioning by the police (procès-verbal), on which his conviction waslargely based, was falsified. The sentence was confirmed on appeal on 11December 2008 in the absence of his lawyers, who said they had not beeninformed of the date of the hearing. In December 2008, Amnesty Internationalexpressed concern that Abd Daiem’s trial proceedings did not meetinternational fair trial standards. Treatment in prison: Abd Daiem has reportedlybeen ill treated in detention and repeatedly transferred to differentprisons. Update: On 4 June 2011, Abd Daiem was removed from his cellin Tiznit prison and moved to an unknown place. Four days later, on 8 June,his family found him in Sale Prison (near Rabat), 1,000 km from the familyhome in Assa. The Moroccan authorities reportedly refused to say why hehad been moved. Two days before the transfer, Abd Daeim told the UPESthat he feared a possible attack from the Moroccan authorities because ofhis writings published on the union’s website in which he expresses hispolitical views. In these articles and short stories, he often writes of hisopposition to Morocco’s occupation of Western Sahara and his criticismof human right abuses allegedly committed by the Moroccan authorities inWestern Sahara. His family reported that his health situation is deterioratingas he is suffering from high blood pressure and diabetes. He is reportedlykept in solitary confinement and denied any access to medication or clothesand blankets. No further news as of 31 December 2011.On trial*Mohamed DAWAS: a blogger based in Fnideq, was arrested on 5September 2011, beaten by police and forced to sign a statement againsthis will. The first hearing of his trial was on 8 September 2011. Thenext hearing was scheduled for 16 September 2011. An anti-corruptioncampaigner, Dawas edits the Fnidaq.com news website and the WikileaksFnideq Facebook page. According to his lawyer, Dawas was arrested ona trumped-up charge of drug trafficking and the real reason was his blogposts. No further news as of 31 December 2011.Attacked/Harassed*Hassan BOURAH: journalist, was attacked by four men on 31 July2011 while he was covering a demonstration. The attack took place inthe south-western city of Guelmim on the evening of 31 July 2011. Hewas reportedly hit in the stomach and face, insulted and threatened, andhis mobile phone and press card were taken. He said that men forced himinto car and dumped him outside the city, far from the demonstrations hehad been covering.*Mohamed BENBA: blogger, 17, was harassed and threatened on 10 Julyfollowing a march in Agadir by the 20 February Movement. Members ofthe Directorate for Territorial Surveillance, an intelligence agency, wentto his school to give him a warning after he posted videos of the marchon YouTube.* Mohamed Ayache BUIHI, Hamid BOUFFOUS: respectively reporterfor the Moroccan daily Al-Massae and editor of the Saharanow.comwebsite, and reporter for the newspaper Risalat Al-Oumma and for theSahara Press and Hespress websites, were attacked on 12 August 2011by members of the Moroccan security forces. The journalists had beencovering a demonstration in El Aaiún (Western Sahara). Buihi was beatenwith a baton on the back and legs. After showing his press card, the securityforces tried to take his camera, and then threw him to the ground andinsulted him. Bouffous was treated in a similar manner, despite wearing avest with the word “Press.”Case ClosedTaoufik BOUACHRINE: editor of the independent daily newspaperAkhbar al-Youm, was sentenced to six months in prison on charges of realestate and sales fraud on 10 June 2010, in what was said to be a politicizedtrial. He was also fined 500 dirhams (US$56) and ordered to pay 10,000dirhams (US$1,120) in damages. The charges stem from Bouachrine’spurchase of a house in Rabat three years before. The new owner claimedBouachrine failed to honour the agreed price and sued. Bouachrine wasreportedly cleared of the charges in 2008 and 2009 but the owner filedanother complaint in April 2010, despite the fact that under Moroccanlaw, it is illegal to re-open a civil case that has been closed. Bouachrinewas free pending an appeal. No further news on Bouachrine’s appeal asof 31 December 2011. Background: On 31 October 2009, Bouachrineand cartoonist Khalid Gueddar were given a four-year suspended prisonsentence on charges of “disrespect to a member of the royal family” forpublishing a cartoon depicting the wedding of Prince Moulay Ismail,King Mohammed VI’s cousin. They were also ordered to pay 270,000Euros in damages to the Prince. Akhbar al-Youm was shut down but wasre-launched in December 2009. Case closed due to lack of information.OMANSuspended sentence*Ibrahim AL-MAAMARI and Youssef AL-HAJ: Editor and journalist,respectively, for the newspaper Al-Zaman, were sentenced to five monthsin prison on 21 September 2011. Since the journalists had already paidbail, the sentence was suspended. Both were charged with defamationand insult to the dignity of the Justice Minister and his deputy in anarticle published on 14 May 2011. The sentence also imposed a suspensionof the publication for a month.Case closedSaleh al-AMERI, Ali el-MAKHMARI and Ahmed al-SHEHHI: Poets.Reportedly detained on 29 March 2011 along with several activistsand journalists after a crackdown on mass anti-government protests whichbroke out in the city of Sahar on 27 February 2011. Held at an undisclosedlocation without charge, no further information as of 31 December 2011.Case closed.PALESTINE AUTHORITYImprisoned: investigationAmer Abdel Halim ABU ARFA: Correspondent for Al-Shihab, a Hamasaffiliatednews agency based in Gaza. Reportedly arrested by the PalestinianAuthority security services from his home on 21 August 2011. He hadpreviously been briefly detained after being sentenced by an Israeli courton 27 July 2010 to three months in prison. No further information as of 31December 2011.SAUDI ARABIAOn trialFahd al-JUHANI: Editor at al-Watan newspaper. Reportedly charged on6 December 2010 with criminal defamation over an article published byAl-Juhni in 2009 under a pseudonym in the Al-weeam website. The trialstarted in August 2011 and is ongoing as of 31 December 2011. Saudi Arabiatransferred jurisdiction over the media from the country’s court system,which is based on Sharia law, to the Ministry of Culture and Information,which is authorised to rule on violations of the Press And Publication Law,under Royal Decree 1700/Mim Ba, 15 March 2005.SYRIAKilled*Ibrahim QASHOUSH: Poet and song writer. Qashoush was kidnappedon 5 July 2011 from his home in Hama city, north of the capital city ofDamascus, by the security forces after he had performed anti-governmentsongs at a Friday demonstration in the city. His body was found in theAl-Assi river on 6 July with his throat cut. Qashoush was known for hispolitical songs that were critical of the Syrian authorities, and which hehad performed regularly to protestors throughout the uprising sparked inmid- March 2011. One of Qashoush’s songs, “Leave us, Bashar”, directlyaddresses the President and ridicules his talk of reform. Another song isentitled “Syria is longing for freedom”. (RAN 37/11 – 20 July 2011)Main case: imprisonedTal AL-MALLOUHI (f):D.o.b.: 1991 Profession: student, poet and blogger. Date of arrest: 27December 2009 Sentence: 5 years in prison Expires: 26 December 2014Details of arrest: Al-Mallouhi was detained on 27 December 2009 afterbeing summoned for questioning about her blog entries. Thought to beheld on charges of espionage although no charge has officially been madeknown. Details of the trial: Reportedly appeared before the State SecurityCourt on 10 November 2010. Tal was sentenced to 5 years in prison bythe State Security Court in Damascus on 14 February 2011. The verdict isfinal and there is no possibility for appeal. The court session was closed,and Al-Mallouhi’s family were banned from attending. No evidence hasbeen presented against her. Place of detention: Duma Womens Prison,on the outskirts of Damascus. Treatment in detention: Reportedly heldin solitary confinement and feared to be at risk of ill-treatment. Otherinformation: For the first nine months of her arrest Al-Mallouhi’s familysought her release through diplomatic negotiations and therefore did notwant any publicity on the case. However on 2 September 2010 her motherpublished an open letter to the Syrian president seeking informationabout her daughter’s welfare and calling for her release. On 5 October2010 it was reported that Al-Mallouhi had been charged with spying fora foreign country. Al-Mallouhi has no known political affiliations, andsources close to the family are baffled by the charges. It is feared thatshe could be targeted for comments and poems published in her blog.Honorary member of: PEN Canada and Danish PEN.Since February 2011, when widespread protests erupted calling foran end to the regime of President Bashar al-Assad, the human rightssituation in Syria has continued to deteriorate, and thousands ofprotestors have been killed by security forces. An unknown number ofwriters and journalists are amongst to have been attacked, arrested ordisappeared. They include the following: 87