Appeal court confirms Lmrabet's ten-year ban to practice journalism
Morocco, Politics, 6/24/2005

The Rabat Court of Appeal confirmed Thursday the sentence against journalist Ali Lmrabet who was condemned to a 10-year ban to practice journalism and to pay a fine of MAD 50,000 (around USD 5.555) for defamation.

Lmrabet was accused of defamation by spokesman of the Association of Families of Sahrawis Victims of Repression In Tindouf Camps (PASVERTI) after a statement Lmrabet made last January to a Moroccan weekly, saying Moroccans in Tindouf "are not sequestered" and that it's only "lies and allegations."

Tindouf camps, southern Algeria, are controlled by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front that claims the separation of the Moroccan Sahara from the rest of the kingdom. The former Spanish colony was retrieved by Morocco in 1975 under the Madrid Accords.

Lmrabet's lawyer had presented to the court a document wherein his client renounces his right to appeal.

The first instance court's sentence against Lmrabet had sparked different reactions with some Sahrawi NGOs deeming it a "light sentence" while the Press Union had asked for reconsidering the verdict.

Previous Stories:
  Seminar qualifies as 'excessive' decision to ban Lmrabet from reporting   (4/18/2005)
  Lmrabet sued by MAP correspondents in Madrid for slandering   (4/15/2005)
  Court bans Lmrabet from exercising journalism for 10 years   (4/13/2005)

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