IN A LETTER to the Prime Minister of Morocco, the IFJ has asked the government to overturn a ban imposed on 2 December on three independent weekly newspapers.

The ban was imposed after Demain, Assahifa and Le Journal published reports which implicated the socialists in a failed attempt to assassinate the late King Hassan II in 1972. The current socialist government rejects allegations that the party was involved in a coup attempt.

The IFJ has joined its affiliate the National Union of Moroccan Press (Syndicat national de la presse marocaine) in condemning this latest crackdown on the media. "These draconian measures are not acceptable in any democratic society", said Aidan White, IFJ General Secretary. "The government of Morocco must repudiate methods of censorship that are an affront to democracy."

The IFJ said that the government should learn to respect the right of media to investigate and to report on all matters of legitimate public interest.