Ali Lmrabet

Ali Lmrabet (born 1959) is a Moroccan journalist of Berber origin, and is a member of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights.

He came from a modest family, was born in a small village near Al-Hoceima in north Morocco. He was schooled at the International Israelite Alliance which sponsored people from underprivileged backgrounds. He then passed his baccalaureate in Kenitra and Rabat. He then headed for France, where he pursued a literature major.

Considered by many in Morocco as a progressive journalist, he passed from the status of simple correspondent to Editor-in-chief of "Le Journal Hebdomadaire" (in English, The Weekly Periodical), which inaugurated an unprecedented era of freedom of speech for the press in Morocco.

Ali Lmrabet is mostly known for creating the weekly journal "Demain" on 11 March 2000, which was renamed "Demain Magazine" after a court case.

On 20 October 2001, Ali published an article where he suggested the possibility of the royal palace of Skhirat being for sale. One month later, he got a four-month prison sentence and a 3000-euro fine for having written the former article by the tribunal of Rabat. They didn't make any distinction between allegations and a "conditional" statement (written in the French tense of "conditionnel").

On 1 April 2003, he was again brought to the tribunal of Rabat and interviewed concerning some article in "Demain" and its Arabic version "Doumane". On 17 April 2003, he was caught by two agents of the DST (the Moroccan secret service) in the airport of Rabat while trying to get to Paris to moderate a debate on liberty in Morocco on the invitation of the JDME. On 2 May, the director of Ecoprint — his publishing house — refused printing the issues of his publications because of the pressure he was under. On 6 May, Ali started a hunger strike to defend his rights. Unfortunately, on 16 May 2003, five simultaneous terrorist attacks shook Casablanca, killing more than 40 people and wounding a lot more. Following that event, an "anti-terrorist" but liberticide law is passed (similar in essence to the U.S. patriot act after 9/11) right after.

On 21 May, Ali was sentenced to four years of prison for insult to the King, threatening the territorial integrity and threatening the monarchic regime. He was also fined 2000 euros and his publications were prohibited. He ended his 7-week hunger strike on 23 June. He lost 22 kilograms of body weight.

On 7 January 2004, he was released after Mohamed VI forgave him. He is not allowed to publish "Demain" or "Doumane" for a period of ten years.

External links

* [http://www.ali-lmrabet.org/ Official site] es icon
* [http://www.afrik.com/article6929.html Interview] fr icon
* [http://www.redasociativa.org/dosorillas/?q=node/view/147 Timeline of events] fr icon
* [http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=T&Id=6723 An update from May, 2006]