Ali Lmrabet

Profession: Journalist

Case details: On 21 May 2003, following articles and cartoons published in the weekly newspapers Demain Magazine and Douman (both banned at present) in regard to the annual allowance that the Moroccan government grants the royal family, Ali Lmrabet was sentenced to three years in prison for "insulting the person of the king" and commiting "an offence against territorial integrity".  He was later released on appeal, after receiving royal pardon from the king.  On 12 april 2005, as a result of a defamation suit, Ali Lmrabet was banned from working as a journalist for 10 years and also fined 50,000 dirhams (approx. 3,030 GBP).  A number of legal irregularities have been reported in connection with his sentence, including the fact that the complainant has no legal status. The heavy sentencing handed down to the journalist took place as Ali Lmrabet was expecting to be granted official permission to launch a new satirical weekly newspaper entitled Demain Libere, which was intended to replace his previously banned newspaper Demain Magazine.   

Background: Ali Lmrabet founded the French-language weekly Demain Magazine in early 2001. His previous, similarly named newspaper, Demain, was banned by the Moroccan authorities in December 2000 for "undermining the stability of the state", following publication of an article alleging the implication of the political left in a 1972 coup attempt against the late King Hassan II.  Lmrabet is also a correspondent for the international press watchdog, Reporters sans frontières (Reporters without borders).