Moroccan blogger jailed for criticizing the king...

On Monday 8 September, a Moroccan man became the first blogger to be sentenced to two years imprisonment. Mohamed Erraji was also fined 5,000 dirhams (US$625) for “lack of respect due to the King”. He is not the first Moroccan to be jailed for peacefully expressing his views on the monarchy, which is still a “taboo” subject in Morocco.

On 11 September 2008, the defence’s request to provisionally release Mohamed Erraji was heeded by the Court of Appeals in Agadir. His appeal hearing is scheduled to take place on 16 September 2008. 

Mohamed Erraji's conviction is reported to be related to an article he published on 3 September on Hespress, an independent Moroccan website. The article was entitled: “The King encourages the nation (to rely) on handouts”. The following day, he was summoned to the police station in the city of Agadir, where he lives, and questioned from 9am to 5pm. He was then asked to return to the police station on 5 September. He was kept in pre-arraignment detention and transferred to the Inzegaine prison on the night of 7 September. 

On 8 September, he was brought in front of the Court of First Instance in Agadir and convicted without the presence of a lawyer, reportedly on the grounds that he had admitted writing the article. More...

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