Archive: morocco
12th January 2010
After long delays, Morocco's first Amazigh (Berber) TV channel was launched last week. Initially, it is broadcasting six hours a day, and 10 hours a day at weekends, in the Tachelhit, Tarifit and Tamazight dialects.
I can't vouch for the quality of the programmes but nevertheless it's a very… Read more
16th December 2009
A blogger and the owner of an internet cafe have been jailed in Morocco. The blogger, Bashir Hazzam, was sentenced to four months for "disseminating false information harmful to the kingdom's image concerning human rights".
He was arrested after publishing a statement on his blog from students… Read more
9th November 2009
Two journalists from Morocco's biggest-selling daily newspaper have been sentenced to jail for "publishing false information".
Rachid Nini, founding editor of al-Massae was given a three-month sentence and writer Said Laajal a two-month sentence in connection with a report on August 17 about the… Read more
28th October 2009
The leading Spanish daily, el Pais, is the latest paper to be censored by the Moroccan authorities. Distribution of its Saturday edition was blocked in Morocco for "attacking the monarchy".
El Pais had reprinted a cartoon which first appeared in Le Monde (also banned) as well as a caricature of… Read more
17th October 2009
A Moroccan editor has been jailed for “intentionally publishing false information” about the king's health.
Driss Chahtan of al-Michaal newspaper was sentenced to a year in jail and two other journalists – Mostafa Hiran and Rashid Mahameed – were sentenced to three months each with a fine of 5,000… Read more
5th October 2009
Choosing a baby’s name ought to be a matter for the child’s parents, but it’s not always so simple. In Morocco, the parents of Tiziri el-Bechnaoui are struggling to register her name, six months after her birth.
The problem is that Tiziri – which means “moon” in the Berber language, Tamazight – is… Read more
2nd October 2009
The Moroccan interior ministry has swung into action over a cartoon (above) published in the daily newspaper, Akhbar al-Youm, last weekend.
Police detained and interrogated editor/publisher Taoufik Bouachrine and cartoonist Khaled Kadar for more than 24 hours. They also sealed off the paper's… Read more
25th September 2009
Morocco's fun-loving king, Mohammed VI, has run into trouble with environmentalists for having one of his luxury cars flown to Britain for repairs.
The car, an Aston Martin DB7, travelled from Rabat in a specially-chartered Hercules transport aircraft. The Sun newspaper hasphotographs of it being… Read more
1st September 2009
Naâma Asfari, a Western Sahara human rights activist, has been jailed for four months in Morocco following a row with a policeman about his keychain.
Asfari was stopped at a checkpoint outside Tantan on August 14. An officer noticed a flag of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic(unrecognised by… Read more
2nd August 2009
The authorities in Morocco have seized the latest edition of two of the country's leading independent magazines – TelQuel (circulation 35,000) and Nichane (50,000).
The reason? Both published an opinion poll showing that 91% of Moroccans have a "positive or very positive" opinion of the king's… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
