Morocco

Moroccans gang together for the release of the "Facebook prisoner"

Julien — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 14:12:36 +0100

Fouad Mourtada got three years in a maximum security prison for creating a fake Facebook profile page for a member of the Moroccan royal family. Now, web-users all over the world are ganging together to get Fouad out of prison.

The 26-year-old Moroccan IT engineer created a profile in the name of Prince Moulay Rachid (the brother of Mohamed VI, king of Morocco). The offence led to his sudden street arrest on Feb 5. After weeks in custody, where his family says he was tortured, he went to trial in Casablanca. He explained that he created the fake profile in admiration for the prince, and with no malicious intentions. However, the court wanted to "make an example" of Mourtada, and they condemned him, at the end of February, to three years in a maximum security prison for the "usurpation of identity".

Since Mourtada was put behind bars outrage among the Moroccan public and on the international blogosphere has only escalated. Young people in particular cannot understand why a harmless joke led to such a severe sentence. Last Saturday demonstrators in Morocco and across Europe marched to demand the release of the Facebook prisoner.

"Sniper" catches sweetener on film

Julien — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 23:35:54 +0100

These images were taken at the frontier post between Nador (northeastern Morocco) and the Spanish enclave of Melilla. According to the web-user who posted the video, police accept backhanders in return for a less-than-thorough check. The video was posted by “Sniper Nador”, probably named in honour of “Sniper Tarjist”, who posted a similar video last summer. We see a motorist slip something into a policeman's hand, although we can’t make out what. But one thing’s for sure: the Moroccan blogosphere will be taken up with this new fad of being a “sniper”.

Our Observers follow the African Cup of Nations

Julien — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:32:58 +0100

The African Cup of Nations (CAN), which kicked off its 26th yearly edition on Sunday, is followed worldwide and rivals the UEFA Euro competition and the Copa America in popularity. The atmosphere is, of course, heating up most in Africa’s major cities, from where our Observers will be sending us post-match updates with photos and comments. Here are comments and predictions from Abidjan, Casablanca, Cotonou and Accra.

The Tecktonik dance craze sweeps Morocco

Julien — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 16:08:00 +0100

For more than a year the French streets and metro stations have been invaded by ‘tecktonik’ dancers. Born out of a mix of electro and hip-hop moves in a suburban nightclub, the dance has now found its way onto the shores of Morocco. Young Moroccans haven’t only adopted the popping and locking dance-moves, they’ve also taken on the ‘Nu Rave’ style clothing and futuristic hair cuts to match. Not quite fitting with traditional Moroccan culture, the wave hasn’t gone down quite so well with older generations.

Post your questions to Larbi, our Observer for Morocco.

Gay witch-hunt in Ksar el Kébir

Julien — Sat, 15 Dec 2007 11:45:00 +0100

Rumours of a supposedly gay marriage, reported by the local press, lead to a modern-day witch-hunt in Ksar el Kébir, Morocco. At the heart of the scandal is a private party that took place at the end of last month. The organiser, according to the minister of interior, wanted to ‘act out a fantasy in which a woman asks him to dress like her and offer a present to saint Sayad Al Madloum'. It was the images below, shot at the party and posted on YouTube, that really stirred up the trouble. Thousands of Ksar el Kébir residents took to the streets to protest against the offence, clapping and chanting homophobic slogans. On 10 December, the party organiser was charged for ‘sexual perversion' and the ‘illegal sale of alcohol'. He was sentenced to ten months in jail.

Post your questions to our Observer, Larbi el Hilali and to Khadija Ryadi, president of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights.