The editor of a Moroccan daily newspaper and its cartoonist went on trial recently in what journalists say is part of an unprecedented government crackdown on the press in the North African country. The court case, in the city of Ain Sebaa, near Casablanca, is the third trial of reporters in less than a month.
"We are here as part of the ongoing massacre of press freedom," said Taouflik Bouachrine, editor of Akhbar Al Youm, Morocco's second largest Arabic language daily, shortly before he and cartoonist Khalid Gueddar appeared in court. In September, the paper printed a front-page carton of King Mohamed's cousin Prince Moulay Ismail celebrating his wedding to a German woman.
The government said the cartoon was an attack on the royal family and contained a Star of David. "The use of the Star of David reflects a leaning towards blatant anti-Semitism," it said.
Both Bouachrine and Gueddar dismissed the accusations. "We wanted to express our affection to the prince for his marriage in his cartoon. I do not know from where they get these Star of David and anti-Semitism things," Gueddar said.
Before this incident, the editor and two journalists from another Arabic language weekly Al Michaal were arrested for what the government called false information after they published articles about King Mohammed's health.
In yet another case, the editor and a reporter at daily Al Jarida al Oula were also being tried for a report on the king's health.
The monarchy, army, religion and the contested Western Sahara region are still off-limits to an increasingly intrepid media in Morocco where reform-minded King Mohammed is widely seen as more tolerant than his late father King Hassan.
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