28 July 2008

Alert

Journalist Mostapha Hurmatallah released on completing his prison sentence


Incident details

Mostapha Hormatallah (Mustafa Hurmatallah)

journalist(s)

released

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(RSF/IFEX) - Reporters Without Borders notes that reporter Mostapha Hurmatallah of the weekly "Al Watan Al An" was freed on 25 July 2008 on completing his prison sentence. He had been in Casablanca's Oukacha prison since 19 February, when Morocco's highest court of appeal ordered him to go back to jail to serve the rest of a seven-month term.

"We welcome Hurmatallah's release with joy, but we reiterate our firm condemnation of the original decision to imprison him just for doing his job," Reporters Without Borders said. "We now hope that this is the end of the era when people are jailed in Morocco because of what they write."

Hurmatallah, whose request for a royal pardon was ignored, told Reporters Without Borders that conditions in prison were very harsh. He was put in a cell with convicted criminals and his visits were restricted. He added that he nonetheless hoped that he would be the last journalist to be jailed in his country in connection with their work.

He was initially sentenced on 15 August 2007 to eight months in prison on a charge of "receiving documents obtained by criminal means" in connection with a special report about a state of alert in the 14 July 2007 issue of "Al Watan Al An".

The following month his sentence was reduced to seven months and he was released provisionally. However, he was returned to prison in February after the country's highest court rejected his appeal.

His release means that there are no journalists currently in prison in Morocco.



Source:

Reporters Without Borders
47, rue Vivienne
75002 Paris
France
rsf (@) rsf.org
Phone: +33 1 44 83 84 84
Fax: +33 1 45 23 11 51
 

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More on this case

Imprisoned journalist goes on hunger strike to mark World Press Freedom Day 5 May 2008 Journalist Mostapha Hurmatallah sent back to prison 21 February 2008 Appeal court upholds prison sentence for journalist Mostapha Hurmatallah 18 September 2007 Journalist Mostapha Hurmatallah freed pending outcome of appeal against eight-month jail term 11 September 2007 Journalist Mostapha Hurmatallah sentenced to eight months in prison; editor Abderrahim Ariri handed suspended sentence 15 August 2007 Detained editor receives provisional release, colleague sent to prison pending trial 24 July 2007 Two journalists being held for publishing internal security memo on terrorist threat 18 July 2007

Morocco

Journalist barred from his office 29 December 2011 Moroccan journalist expelled 27 December 2011 Police question over 100 people in advance of parliamentary vote 25 November 2011 Appeal court upholds editor's prison sentence 25 October 2011 ANHRI condemns attack on headquarters of newspaper 14 October 2011 See all alerts: Morocco


 
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