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Moroccan Rights Group Warns Over Free Speech After Arrests

Associated Press

   RABAT, MOROCCO - Leading Moroccan human rights activists warned
   Thursday of an assault on freedom of expression in the country
   following the arrest over recent months of 15 journalists, bloggers,
   rappers and social media users.

   Supporters of the detainees organized a protest in front of the
   Parliament in Rabat to demand their release.

   The protest followed the publication of a report by the National
   Solidarity Committee, which sought to chronicle how authorities across
   the North African country increasingly clamped down on dissent during
   2019, particularly on social media, which is widely considered to be
   the last remaining forum for Moroccans to speak freely.

   The 15 are either facing charges, are on trial or have been convicted
   for crimes varying from insulting the king or institutions, to posting
   the lyrics of a popular rap song called "Long Live the People," whose
   singer is spending one year in prison.

   The report said that in December alone, Moroccan courts convicted six
   people, including a high-school student. They were sentenced from six
   months to four years in prison for charges such as criticizing living
   conditions in Morocco on Facebook. Most recently, 19-year-old Hamza
   Asbaar from Southern Laayoune was sentenced to four years in prison for
   publishing a rap song deemed "offensive to sanctities."

   Verdicts on other cases are expected in the next few months.

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