After Le Monde, RFI, La Razon publishes clarification on convicted moroccan

"Hicham Mandari has never been an adviser to (the late) king Hassan II, nor was he brought up at the royal palace under the aegis of the king," said Friday Spanish daily "La Razon" in a clarification published by Marti and Associates, a firm of Lawyers and economists, on behalf of Morocco.

"He has never participated, either actively or passively, in the daily activity of the royal household," the text goes.

Last August, the French daily "Le Monde" had published a clarification refuting the content of several stories where it had referred to Mandari as an adviser to the late king Hassan II.

The same source says Mandari has never even worked for the state.

The same clarification had been aired by the French TV channel RFI which said the diplomatic passports Mandari had claimed to hold proved fake.

Hicham Mandari was convicted last week by an investigating magistrate at a Paris tribunal for attempt to blackmail a Moroccan businessman.

A weapon and an important sum of money were seized at the home of the man, already involved in a case of forged Bahraini Dinars back in 1999.