Moroccan Journalists Get Suspended Sentence For Article On Religious Jokes

In Morocco, a court this week handed down three-year suspended sentences to the editor and to a reporter of the independent weekly magazine Nichane, according to a report yesterday by the Committee to Protect Journalists. They were charged with denigrating Islam under Morocco’s Press and Publication Law because of a 10-page article analyzing popular jokes about religion, sex, and politics. (See prior posting.) The journalists were also fined the equivalent of US$9,300. The prison terms can be imposed if either defendant is convicted of a future offense. The defendants could have been sentenced to as much as 5 years in prison.