RABAT: Moroccan authorities have sentenced a Youtuber who criticised the king to prison, and detained a journalist-activist who defended anti-government protesters in a tweet.

Freedom of speech advocates say the moves reflect growing pressure against those who use social networks to express anger at economic and social problems.

A court in Settat handed a four-year prison sentence to Mohammed Sekkaki for referring to Moroccans as donkeys and criticising King Mohammed VI, in a video posted on YouTube in November. The royal family is widely revered in Morocco, and criticising the king is a criminal offense.

Also on Thursday, journalist and activist Omar Radi was detained in Casablanca and charged with insulting a judge. Radi’s arrest was apparently prompted by a tweet six months ago criticising a Moroccan court’s decision to hand maximum prison sentences to leaders of mass demonstrations in the poverty-stricken northern Rif region.

The Casablanca court refused to grant Radi bail pending the next hearing Jan 2, said activist Khalid El Bekkari, who was in the court when Radi was charged. If convicted, Radi could face up to a year in prison and a 500 euro ($555) fine. It was unclear why the arrest occurred so long after the original tweet.

Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the Moroccan constitution, but with limits. Last month a rapper known as Gnawi went on trial over a video in which he insulted the police. In September, a Moroccan journalist was sentenced to prison on charges of undergoing an illegal abortion after becoming pregnant while being single.

Published in Dawn, December 28th, 2019