Two journalists banned from leaving the country

Reporters Without Borders protested today at Morocco's refusal to allow two journalists to leave the country after they reported on a corruption scandal involving prominent politicians. "It appears the regime's old habits die hard," said Reporters Without Borders secretary-general Robert Ménard. "We call on the new prime minister, Driss Jettou, to see that this kind of thing does not happen again. If the authorities want to criticise journalists, let them follow the normal procedures." The two journalists, Ali Amar (managing editor) and Mouaad Rhandy (reporter), of the weekly Journal hebdomadaire, were held by Moroccan police for three hours on 23 October at the border with the Spanish enclave of Ceuta, in northern Morocco. They were interrogated by intelligence officials about a report they wrote in the latest issue of the paper and told they could not leave the country. The report, which appeared on 19 October, included an interview with Moulay Zine Zahidi, former head of the finance company Credit Immobilier et Hotelier (CIH), who is on the run from police. It contained revelations about the running of CIH, which is being investigated by parliament and which involves several leading politicians. The journalists were first brought before detectives who handed them a summons in connection with the Zahidi case. They were then interrogated by intelligence police. "They searched our car from top to bottom, ripped out the seats and seized our mobile phones, our papers and a camera," Amar told Reporters Without Borders. The newspaper's publisher, Aboubakr Jamai, called the interrogation "outrageous" and said it should have been done as part of a legal procedure. On the eve of the country's 27 September parliamentary elections, Reporters Without Borders called on candidates to pledge support for freedom of expression in Morocco.