Blogger gets six months for petition accusing prosecutor of corruption

Reporters Without Borders is very concerned about the six-month prison sentence and fine of 5,000 dirham (463 euros) which a court in the northern city of Tétouan passed on journalist and blogger Hassan Barhoum on 6 March for circulating a petition accusing a local prosecutor of corruption. He was found guilty of disseminating false information. “Barhoum is a very active blogger and, by imposing this sentence on him, the authorities are trying to intimidate all of Morocco's bloggers and restrict the right to free expression that is recognised by the Moroccan constitution,” Reporters Without Borders said. “We call for his immediate release.” Barhoum was arrested on 26 February and charged under article 263 of the criminal code with defaming a judicial official in his petition about corruption in the Tétouan region, which was signed by 60 journalists and human rights activists. Saïd Benjebli, the coordinator of the Association of Moroccan Bloggers, told Reporters Without Borders the petition accused Mohamed Smouki, the prosecutor general at the Tétouan court of appeals, of “using his influence to facilitate the escape of an imprisoned relative, local drug baron Mohamed Chaff, from the Tétouan public hospital.” The petition called Smouki a “dangerous criminal” who had “broken the sacred trust of the people and state institutions.” Under article 263 of the criminal code, defaming a judical official is punishable by up to five years in prison.