The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has today condemned harsh fines handed down by a Moroccan court in a libel case brought against a popular newspaper by four judges.

“This fine is disproportionate and punitive," said Jim Boumelha, IFJ President. "It is impossible not to conclude that the intention is to threaten the survival of the newspaper. Everyone who is defamed has the right to redress, but the court has ignored the publisher's apologies and has instead tried to deliver a mortal blow to the newspaper."

A Rabat court on Tuesday found Rachid Niny, director of the widely read daily Al-Massae, guilty of libel and ordered him to pay damages to four plaintiffs in the amount of six million dirhams (524,000 euros). The court also fined him 120,000 dirhams that must be paid to the state, and ordered that this verdict must be published in his own newspaper and three others, Al Massae, Assabah and Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

The four plaintiffs, all of them judges, took action after Al-Massae in a November article quoted a police source as saying a local judge had attended a “gay wedding” in the town of Ksar el Kebir. The report did not name the judge. Four judges from the town sued the paper for defamation after the report came out. Later Al Massae made an apology after its police source confirmed it confused two people with the same name and that the person at the party was not a town judge.

The party made headlines in several Moroccan newspapers as a "gay wedding," resulting in angry demonstrations by Islamist organisations in an attempt to turn the event into a political test on public morals in Morocco. Homosexual acts are banned by law in Morocco.

Niny, who did not attend the hearing, has 10 days to appeal.

"This case highlights what appears to be a concerted campaign by judges in Morocco to stifle independent journalism," said Boumelha. "The judiciary should apply the law fairly but despite worldwide protests journalists continue to be jailed, targeted and, as in this case, subject to appalling intimidation."

Click here to read the release in Arabic.

For more information contact the IFJ at + 32 2 235 2207
The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 120 countries worldwide