A Moroccan court recently sentenced journalist Hamid el-Mehdaoui to a suspended four-month prison sentence for "criminal defamation." This sentence came in the wake of his reporting on accusations of police torture in the case of Karim Lachqar, an activist who died in police custody. The court found the journalist guilty of defamation after the Moroccan police filed a lawsuit against him, demanding damages. Along with Mehdaoui, his source in the case, Rabea al-Ablak, was also ordered to pay damages.
This case is part of a broader pattern in Morocco, where media outlets have faced increased scrutiny and legal challenges, particularly when reporting on government figures or security services. Similar cases have included a defamation lawsuit involving the private secretary of the Moroccan king, as well as multiple other legal actions against journalists critical of the government
The verdict has sparked criticism from press freedom organizations like the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which argues that these legal actions are a means to silence critical journalism and intimidate the press
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