Moroccan coalition explores legal action against minister in intelligence leak case

30/07/2007

A group of journalists and civil society organisations in Morocco is considering legal action against Communications Minister Nabil Benabdallah, following statements the official made in connection with the criminal case currently underway against Al-Watan Al-An employees Abderrahim Ariri and Mustapha Hormatallah.

By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia in Casablanca – 30/07/2007

[Lahcen Mawassi] The Committee for Solidarity with Al-Watan Al-An protests the detention of the two journalists at the courthouse entrance.

A coalition of civil society organisations criticised public statements made by Communications Minister Nabil Benabdallah during the detention and investigation of Al-Watan Al-An Editor-in-Chief Abderrahim Ariri, and journalist Mustapha Hormatallah, in a case involving the leaking and publication of classified Moroccan security documents.

Mohamed Hafid, co-ordinator of the new Committee for Solidarity with the El-Watan Al-An Newspaper, said the committee is exploring filing a lawsuit against the Communications Minister following statements in which the official issued judgements against the two journalists involved in a case under investigation. According to Hafid, Benabdallah disclosed information on the course of the investigation at a time when it was incumbent upon him to honour the investigation's confidentiality. The committee accuses the Minister of exploiting public television channels in Morocco during the two journalists' detention and investigation in order to rally public opinion against them and steer the course of justice.

The two journalists were arrested on the morning of July 17th, following their July 14th publication of two internal security memos which contained directives and orders to raise the country's alert status to maximum due to terrorist threats expected in Morocco.

The first document warned of threats made in videotapes by the organisation called "Ansar al-Islam in the Muslim Desert". The second document discussed the formation of a terrorist organisation called "Legions of Death" which was to carry out terrorist and destructive acts in Arab countries, including Morocco. Legal proceedings began against the journalists after two extensions of the 96-hour custody period. The public prosecutor authorised the provisional release of Ariri, but kept Hormatallah in custody to await trial.

In its first hearing, on July 26th, the Court of First Instance rejected the petition of the two journalists' defence committee, made up of 96 lawyers, aimed at securing the provisional release of Mustapha Hormatallah. The court also decided to postpone the trial until July 30th.

The prosecutors' decision to pursue the two journalists under Penal Law and not Press Law has been the subject of much criticism and debate. Rather than charging the two men with 'publishing secret documents harmful to the kingdom's internal and foreign security' as had been expected, the public prosecutor charged them with 'concealing items derived from a crime', maintaining that they were hiding documents stolen from the military. Therefore, the case against the journalists is based on their possession of the documents rather than their publication.

This strategy has stimulated a debate in Morocco's political and human rights arena on the rights of the press to obtain information. In statements on the case, National Press Syndicate Secretary-General Younes M’Jahed criticised the law for its inadequacies and called for new legislation explicitly outlining the people's right to information.

During a July 26th political conference in Casablanca, Moroccan Labour Minister Mustapha Mansouri said that the right to obtain information is the biggest problem facing Moroccan media. Noting the progress Morocco has made in the field of press freedom, Mansouri called for a law guaranteeing journalists' rights, including the protection of journalists and sources.