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Published: Tuesday 09 September 2008 18:38 UTC
Last updated: Wednesday 10 September 2008 15:59 UTC

A Moroccan blogger has been sentenced to a fine and two years imprisonment for criticising the king. On his web-site Hespress, Mohamed Erraji wrote that the Moroccan population has little self-respect because the regime has created a culture of dependency, whereby loyalty is rewarded with favours.

Mr Erraji was arrested on Friday and tried on Monday. His family says no lawyer was present at the trial. Journalists organisation Reporters Without Borders is demanding his release. The blogger comes from a poor family and has bad health. He has been writing about political and social issues under his own name since March 2007.

"Latest News - Radio Netherlands Worldwide - English." 12 Sep. 2008 .

Image via Wikipedia The court of appeals of Agadir on Thursday ordered the provisional release of Moroccan blogger Mohamed Erajji, the official Maghreb Arabe Presse agency (MAP) reports.

Erraji had been sentenced to two years in prison on Monday for "lacking the respect due to the King" and the Royal family. He had been arrested last Friday after posting an article on the popular e-journal Hespress, in which he claimed that the King's charitable habits were "encouraging a culture of dependency" and the Moroccan people to be "lazy."

According to one of Erraji's relatives who was present at the trial in Agadir, Erraji was denied access to a defense lawyer and was convicted after a ten-minute trial.

The court of appeals ruled on Thursday that the lower court had failed to respect certain legal procedures under the Press and Publication Law. The public prosecutor's office did not object to Erajji's release.

Mohamed Erajji was the first blogger in Morocco to be given a prison sentence.


From MENASSAT:

Two years for criticizing the King
Posted on 10/09/2008 - 15:04
Moroccan blogger Mohamed Erraji has been sentenced to two years in prison for posting an article in which he criticized the policies of the King.

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