Ali Anouzla

The editor of the Arabic-language version of the news website Lakome, Ali Anouzla was arrested in September 2013 just for posting a link to the blog of a journalist with the Spanish daily El País that in turn had a link to a video in which Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM) threatened Morocco. Although released after five weeks, he still faces up to 20 years in prison under Morocco’s anti-terrorism law. One more judicial headache for a journalist who has specialized in criticizing King Mohammed and his regime. It was Anouzla who, in July 2013, revealed that a serial child rapist was among the 49 convicted Spaniards to get a royal pardon under an agreement with Spain’s King Juan Carlos. He has also criticized King Mohammed’s lavish spending and long absences, and the corruption among those around him. He says he is ready to pay the price of fighting against “the wall of fear.”