Nichane verdict - a win for moderation?

Nichane Case was handled 'with a lot of wisdom,'- Ksikes

The Verdict: In the Casablanca First Instance Court, presiding judge Noureddine Ghassin, handed down a light sentence. As well as the two-month ban, he fined Nichane 80,000 Moroccan dirhams and sentenced the two journalists, Ksikes and Al-Aji to three-year suspended jail for publishing an article described as "harmful to Islam."

The case against Nichane was always going to be a tricky one for the Moroccan courts. Pushed on one side by the conservative forces and the other by the popular reform movement, there seemed little hope of an easy outcome. Undoubtedly the international outcry over the crazy call by a prosecutor for convictions and tough punishment has played a role in bringing commonsense to the situation.

The blogosphere can take credit for running with the story and not letting go. However, apart from the Public Prosecutor (who hopefully will be given a small talking to by someone further up the food chain) the local media need to ask why they did not take a stronger line in defence of press freedom.

For his part, Nichane editor Ksikes hailed the court's decision "not to follow up the claims of the Public Prosecutor, which were for the most unjust mainly those related to banning journalists from practicing journalism." Taking into account "the context in which the case was held," he deemed "positive" the suspended sentences, noting, however, that "it is high time to embark on debates over the enforcement of custodial sentences against journalists."

Ksikes stressed that the two-month ban of Nichane would have a heavy economic and psychological impact on the publication and its journalists, adding that lodging an appeal "is still under discussion."

Sanaa Al Aji
As to journalist, Sanaa Al Aji, she described her reaction as "being overwhelmed with shock."

Nichane had recently published a long article about Moroccan jokes, namely on Islam, sex and politics which prompted Moroccan Prime Minister, Driss Jettou to,..."in his name and in the name of the government," ban Nichane.

Driss Jettou possibly regrets the way he played the politics of the situation and may now be a little more cautious about attacking the media. He would do well to follow the line of Morocco’s Communications Minister, Nabil Benabdallah, who has been quick to make public the fact that he is "satisfied that the two journalists have not been sentenced to serve prison terms."

Last year, two journalists of sister French-speaking weekly “Tel Quel” were sentenced to two suspended months in a slur case and to a USD 86,500 fine.


IN RELATED NEWS: Morocco "lifts taboos"!

Ironically and in what can only be described as "good timing" a report presented in Amman describes the the Moroccan media, and especially the print press, has having witnessed an important evolution and substantially developed in terms of quality and quantity.

The report, written by journalists Boubker Jamai and Ahmed Elbouz and presented at a conference on "The role of the media in building democratic systems", noted that the print press in Morocco ranks second in the Arab world in terms of publications, and has made large steps in "lifting taboos."

The paper speaks particularly of the "new and important" evolutions this field has seen in the 1999-2006 period, citing inter alia, the liberalization of the audiovisual sector, the increase of the grants given to the press, and the preparation of a new Press Act, which the report says, includes important proposals that meet the demands of the professionals.

However, the report deplores what it called "events that hinder the evolution" of the press such as the "trials and restrictions" that involved some publications, the resort to the criminal code in treating lawsuits relating to the press, and the "economic embargo," which the document describes as a "new phenomenon."

To remedy this situation, the report makes some proposals including the right to access information, the nullification of prison terms against journalists, except for criminal cases.

At the Amman meeting Moroccan journalists and their colleagues from Jordan, Egypt and Lebanon called for the closure of the information ministries in their countries and for the implementation of a law guaranteeing media freedom. Some 80 journalists and media professionals discussed national and regional reports regarding the situation of media, at the conference organized by the Beirut-based Arab Centre for the Development of the Rule of Law and Integrity, Washington-based IFES and the UNDP. Attendees agreed on necessity of issuing of media-related licenses under independent authorities. gathered scores of media groups from Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon and Egypt.

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