RSF calls for cancellation of new press law and protests against review's seizure

Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières - RSF) expressed concern today about a new seizure of a publication, the quarterly Arab-language journal Wijhat Nadhar, by Moroccan authorities and called for abolition of the country's new press law. "This confiscation is part of a hostility towards the media marked by passage of a very disappointing new press law," said RSF secretary-general Robert Ménard. "If the press law was as truly concerned with press freedom as the government claims it is, such seizures would not be happening." So far this year in Morocco, one journalist has been arrested, six physically attacked, the editor of a weekly put on trial and three publications censored. Plainclothes police seized 8,000 copies of issue no.15 of Wijhat Nadhar from the Najah printing works in Casablanca on 6 May. The journal's editor, Abdellatif Hosni, said no reason was given for the confiscation. However the issue contained the translation of a lecture given by Prince Moulay Hisham (see photo), King Mohammed VI's brother, at the French Institute for International Relations (IFRI) in Paris in May 2001. The prince, who lives in the United States, said the Moroccan monarchy needed "to reform itself." The country's new press law was given final approval by parliament on 6 May without major changes, despite being shuttled between the two houses of the legislature and being greatly criticised by Moroccan civil society as well as local and international NGOs, including RSF. The law was passed by the Chamber of Deputies on 12 March and by the upper chamber, the House of Councillors, on 11 April, with a few minor changes. Despite some positive points (lighter penalties for journalists, smaller fines, easier procedures for launching a publication and the need to give reasons for confiscation), the law is still a tough one. Jail terms for insulting the king and the royal family remain, with offenders risking between three and five years in prison (compared with between five and 20 years previously). Article 29 retains the government's right to ban Moroccan or foreign newspapers if they are deemed to "undermine Islam, the monarchy, national territorial integrity or public order."