Morocco expelled on Wednesday two French journalists from the magazine Marianne, who were conducting investigations on King Mohammed VI and "human rights violations" in the kingdom.
Morocco has gained one place in the latest annual ranking of Reporters Without Borders (RSF), which nevertheless warned of a precarious situation for independent media in the kingdom.
The verdict in the case of Moroccan journalist Soulaimane Raissouni has been handed down. The editor-in-chief of the daily Akhbar Al Yaoum was sentenced to five years in prison with a fine of 100,000 dirhams (about 9,500 euros) for "sexual assault" on an LGBT activist. His support committee and Reporters Without Borders are demanding his release pending a "fair" appeal trial.
Gathered within the SNJ, the SNJ-CGT and the CFDT-Journalists, Moroccan journalists called in the middle of the week for the release of two colleagues who have been held in pre-trial detention for nearly a year. Omar Radi and Slimane Raissouni, awaiting their trial, have started a hunger strike to obtain provisional release.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has called on the Moroccan authorities to release journalist Mohamed Lamine Haddi, a contributor to the television channel of the "Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (RASD)" imprisoned in Morocco for 10 years. The international NGO says he "is in particularly worrying health."
Imprisoned at the local El Arjat 2 prison, the Franco-Moroccan historian and journalist Maâti Monjib continues his hunger strike, which began on March 4, to "denounce the injustice of which he is a victim." RSF organized a demonstration on Friday, March 19, in front of the Moroccan embassy in Paris to demand his "immediate release" and "an end to a flagrant injustice."
After the publication by Reporters Without Borders (RSF) of a video capsule denouncing the deterioration of the state of freedom of expression in Morocco , it is the turn of the authorities to take the field, to denounce what they describe as "unjustified attacks" and "defamatory assertions".
Reporters Without Borders reacts to the summons of journalist Omar Radi. For RSF, the Moroccan authorities must put an end to the harassment of the journalist.
In its latest global press freedom ranking, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) says Moroccan journalists are "under judicial pressure". The organization believes that the coverage of information related to the coronavirus threatens the journalism profession.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) claims to have sent a message to the Head of Government, Saâdeddine El Otmani , and to other Heads of State and Government in several African countries, calling for the release of journalists currently detained.
Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist and human rights activist, was placed in detention on Thursday for a tweet denouncing a court decision.
The state of health of the journalist Rabie Al Ablaq, detained in the context of the Rif Hirak, is a concern for Reporters Without Borders (RSF) which has called for his immediate release. It has become a matter of health and life to be saved at all costs, according to RSF.