Morocco investigative journalist gets 10 months for adultery
JournalismPakistan.com | Published: 31 March 2015
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Hicham Mansouri, a Moroccan investigative journalist, received a 10-month prison sentence for adultery. This case has highlighted ongoing concerns about press freedom in Morocco.Summary
RABAT, Morocco: The head of a Moroccan press freedom association says a court has convicted an investigative journalist of adultery and sentenced to 10 months in prison in an attempt to intimidate him.
Maati Monjib of the Freedom Now organization said Tuesday that Hicham Manouri was convicted of adultery and of charges related to housing prostitution. He was fined 4,000 euros ($4,340). Police burst into Mansouri's apartment on March 17, beat him and arrested him while he was with a divorced woman.
Mansouri was with the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism and had been working on a piece about electronic surveillance by the state when he was arrested, said Monjib.
Morocco prides itself on its press freedom, but groups like Freedom Now maintain there is systematic repression of those holding dissident views. - AP
KEY POINTS:
- Hicham Mansouri convicted of adultery and housing prostitution charges.
- Sentenced to 10 months in prison and fined 4,000 euros.
- Arrested while working on a report about state surveillance.
- Police allegedly beat Mansouri during his arrest.
- Freedom Now organization condemns the conviction as intimidation.
