Morocco: National Syndicate of the Moroccan Press President sued for defamation

The President of the National Syndicate of the Moroccan Press (SNPM), an IFJ affiliate, is sued for defamation by the Moroccan Interior ministry, for having denounced electoral fraud. The IFJ joins the SNPM in condemning this muzzling of the press in Morocco and exhorts the government to cease the legal action against the journalist. Abdallah Bakkali, SNPM President, publication direction of the opposition daily Al Alam, is sued for defamation before the Court of First Instance of Rabat by the Moroccan Interior ministry after publishing an article in his newspaper on 9 October 2015 and making a statement on the website Alyaoum 24 about the electoral fraud which marred the last communal and regional elections, as well as the elections of the second chamber of the Parliament. The corruption had also been denounced by the head of the government himself and some of the ministers. Read the complete text in French here

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