Two Chinese fined for selling pictures of King Mohammad VI

According to the Arabic source, Al Bawaba, a Casablanca court has charged two Chinese men $650 for selling pictures of King Mohammad VI without obtaining permission from the Royal Court of Morocco. The two Chinese merchants were arrested by Moroccan police in the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca during their attempt to smuggle €44,000 into Egypt. After police searched the men, they found 140 pictures of the Moroccan king.

During the court preceding, Mr. Shan Caen and Mr. Liu Mei admitted that the photographs were made in China and were being sold at between two and three dollars. They told the court that they were unaware that the sale of images of the Moroccan monarch required special approval.

The men's defense attorneys asked the President of the Court to only fine the two and spare them prison time since the defendants displayed good faith. The Public Prosecution Office announced that it would not pursue any additional penalties against the two men since they had reached an agreement with the Customs Department.

In other Moroccan news, the Arab Inter-parliamentary Union (AIPU) has reiterated its "full" support to the efforts made by Morocco to retrieve the Spanish-occupied cities of Ceuta and Melilla as well as neighboring islands.

The Arab MPs called on Spain to engage in "direct negotiations" with the Moroccan government in order to achieve "a peaceful solution" to this issue, said the final statement of the sixth AIPU Executive Committee Meeting, convened this weekend in Amman.

The harbour in Sebta

Regarding the Arab-Israeli conflict, the Committee condemned the Israeli practices in occupied Palestinian territories, especially in the holy city of Al Quds through the policy of Judaization, expressing its rejection of all the abuses targeting Palestinian citizens.

While insisting on the unity of Palestinian ranks, the MPs called for the lifting of the blockade imposed on Gaza and condemned the Israeli “maritime piracy” following its murderous attack in late May against the “freedom flotilla” which was carrying humanitarian aid for Gazans.

The Committee also stressed the need to broaden the scope of freedoms in the Arab world, strengthen the role of legislative institutions and promote the culture of human rights.