CPJ: Morocco steps up assault on bloggers | Bikya Masr
CAIRO: The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) condemned the imprisonment of a Moroccan blogger and Internet cafe owner, calling the campaign an “assault” on freedom of speech in the country. The New York-based press watchdog called on Moroccan authorities to overturn both jail sentences on appeal.
Blogger Bashir Hazzam, 26, was sentenced to four months in prison for “spreading false information harmful to the kingdom’s image on human rights,” according to his lawyer, El Arbi Redouane. Hazzam was arrested and charged under the press law three days after posting on his political blog, Al-Bushra, a statement released by students at a local university who organized a protest on December 1 in Taghjijt, a town 125 miles (200 kilometers) south of Agadir, the Arab Network for Human Rights Information reported.
“The statement denounced the use of force by police and local authorities as well as the arbitrary arrests of some of the protesters who were demanding public transportation, housing, and funding for publications necessary for their course work,” CPJ said in a press statement.
