Prisoner of conscience Ali Lmrabet has been on hunger strike since 6 May in protest at his continued detention. On 26 May he was transferred from Sale Prison, near the capital Rabat, to Avicennes Hospital in Rabat. He is in a serious condition. Amnesty International is concerned that his life is at risk and is calling for his immediate and unconditional release.

Ali Lmrabet is editor-in-chief of two Moroccan satirical weekly publications, Demain Magazine (Tomorrow Magazine) and its Arabic language counterpart, Doumane.

He began his hunger strike in protest against the most recent court case to be brought against him by the Moroccan authorities. Since he was imprisoned on 21 May, he has said he is determined to remain on hunger strike until he is released.

Ali Lmrabet was sentenced by a court in Rabat, on 21 May to four years' imprisonment and a fine of twenty thousand dirhams (approximately two thousand US dollars) on charges of insulting King Mohamed VI, "undermining the monarchy" and "threatening the integrity of the national territory". His two publications were also banned by the court. He was sentenced on the basis of several articles, cartoons and a photo-montage which had appeared in both Demain Magazine and Doumane.

These included an article featuring extracts of an interview, already published in a Spanish newspaper, with a Moroccan republican activist and former political prisoner, who advocates the right to self-determination for the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara.

They also included a cartoon commenting on the parliamentary approval of the budget for the royal household.

In an unusual move for a case involving violations of press laws, Ali Lmrabet was jailed immediately after sentencing, despite indicating that he would appeal against the verdict. The court invoked "special circumstances" to do this. Normally, a person sentenced in such a case would remain at liberty until a ruling had been made on the appeal.

Amnesty International considers Ali Lmrabet to be a prisoner of conscience, detained solely for exercising his legitimate right to freedom of expression.

It is not the first time that Ali Lmrabet has faced criminal charges for violating press laws. On 21 November 2001, he was sentenced to four months' imprisonment and a fine of thirty thousand Moroccan dirhams (approximately three thousand US dollars) by the Court of First Instance in Rabat for "disseminating false information which undermines public order or is likely to undermine it".

The charge related to an article published in Demain Magazine on information received by the newspaper that a decision had been taken at the highest level in Morocco to sell a royal palace to foreign investors wanting to turn it into a tourist complex.

Ali Lmrabet is still appealing against this sentence, and had been allowed to remain at liberty until the court had ruled on his appeal.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Questioning the monarchy or Morocco's right to Western Sahara remain taboo subjects in the North African kingdom.

Western Sahara is the subject of a territorial dispute between Morocco and the self-proclaimed Government in exile, known as the Polisario Front, which calls for an independent state for the Sahrawi people in the territory. Morocco annexed the territory in 1975 and claims sovereignty there.

Amnesty International

Amnistía Internacional (España)

Enlaces sobre Direitos Humanos