Morocco: Independent Publication Shut Down

Late last week, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, an independent Moroccan weekly with a long record of democratic and human rights advocacy, was forcibly shut down by five armed bailiffs wielding a Moroccan court-order. Issandr El Amrani mourns the loss of what he calls an “irreverent and audacious magazine,” one which he credits with giving him hope for a “gradual and peaceful transition to democracy.” Praising the magazine’s relentless campaign for constitutional reform, Amrani worries that its demise signals a “renewed authoritarianism.” The Committee to Protect Journalists chastised the Moroccan government as well, highlighting its proclivity for “using the courts to silence critical publications.”

For further background reading, check out The New Yorker‘s 2006 profile of Le Journal and its embattled editor, Abou Bakr Jamai.