Morocco: Jailed journalists freed by surprise royal decree

Morocco: Jailed journalists freed by surprise royal decree: " Morocco
Jailed journalists freed by surprise royal decree

Ali Lmrabet and others freed

Moroccan editor Ali Lmrabet walked free from jail on 7 January - just as fears were mounting that he might not survive the critical stage of his second protest hunger strike - as one of 33 individuals granted a royal reprieve, seven of them journalists. James Badcock reports.

Jailed editor Ali Lmrabet of the now-banned satirical weeklies Demain and its Arabic edition and Mohammed el-Hourd of the weekly Asharq were on day 39 of a protest hunger strike when news broke of their imminent release under a royal reprieve that freed 33 politically sensitive prisoners on 7 January.

King Mohammed VI, who during his four-year reign has sought recognition for his efforts promote human rights and democratic values, had come under increasing international pressure to intervene in the case of Lmrabet and other imprisoned journalists. At one point the Paris-based media rights campaign group Reporters sans Frontires organised a protest outside an Alpine chalet where the King was spending a skiing holiday.

Yet despite this high profile attention, the authorities showed little inclination to soften their stance. Only a few days before the announcement, prison officials denied both Lmrabet's sister and h"