Blogger jailed for two years for critising King

11 Sep 2008

A Moroccan blogger who wrote an article criticising the King was sentenced to two years in jail after a startling short trial, reported the Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) and Reporters Without Borders (RSF).

On 8 September, the court of Agadir in southern Morocco condemned Mohammed Erraji to two years' imprisonment and a fine of 5,000 Moroccan dirhams (US$620) for "failure to uphold the respect due to the King." His trial reportedly lasted 10 minutes and ccording to WiPC, Erraji is in poor health.

Erraji was arrested on 4 September following the publication on the online news site Hespress.com of an article accusing Morocco's monarchy of encouraging a culture of dependency. He argued that the King's custom of granting favours, such as taxi licences to a lucky few, encouraged people to rely on handouts. Read an English translation of the article on the Global Voices Online website.

"Erraji was given a summary trial for which he had no time to find a lawyer and was unable to defend himself," says RSF. "The Moroccan blogosphere is known for being dynamic, so this is big step backwards for the kingdom."

Erraji is the first Moroccan blogger to be prosecuted and convicted for an article posted online. He is Hespress.com's Agadir correspondent and writes regularly for the site. He also has his own blog published under his real name, "The World of Mohammed Erraji," that was started in March 2007 and deals mainly with political and social issues.

A website and petition have been setup in solidarity with the blogger at http://www.helperraji.com as well as a Facebook group.

In a separate case, newspaper editor Ahmed Reda Benchemsi, who is also facing charges of disrespect for the King, had his one-year case adjourned indefinitely last week.

Benchemsi told RSF, "The court was clearly trying to close the case without having to reach a verdict...I am supposed to see this decision as a conciliatory gesture. But the judge can call me back to court whenever he wants."

According to ANHRI, Erraji's trial is a perfect illustration of the types of trials people who express their opinion freely receive. At the request of the prosecution, and despite the opposition of the court, the trial was conducted in a single session, behind closed doors and without lawyers or representatives of the defence. Furthermore, the incriminating article defamed neither the King nor any other authority.

The Hespress website published the article on 3 September 2008. Erraji was questioned on 4 and 5 September 2008. Then, on 8 September 2008, he was sentenced to spend two years in prison and to pay a fine. All of this occurred without allowing him the right to a defence counsel. This is a crystal clear example of the absence of justice and freedom of expression in Morocco, says ANHRI.

ANHRI added, "The Moroccan king should know that no matter how severe any journalistic critique may be, it is not necessarily meant to vilify anyone. Hence, we demand that he pardon and release Mohamed Erraji."