Dissident Moroccan reporter Rachid Nini stands trial http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2011/05/08/feature-01

In a move that casts doubts over the legitimacy of Morocco's national press dialogue, the government put prominent opposition journalist Rachid Nini on trial. Nini, whose trial began on Monday (May 2nd) in Casablanca, was indicted in late April for Al Massae articles "in which he criticised the administration of law enforcement institutions and accused some public figures of breaking the law", lead prosecutor Abdellah Belghiti said. 

"Some of the articles questioned terrorist incidents and even demanded abolishing the Terrorism Act, and holding accountable the officials involved in making and fabricating these cases," the prosecutor declared.According to Al Massae Media Group spokesman Youssef Jajili, the prosecutor also accused Nini of "propagating ideas that threaten the security of the homeland and its citizens". Jajili said that the journalist was held in custody by the judiciary police for 96 hours, "in accordance with the Terrorism Act". 

"Then the case witnessed a radical change, and Nini was put to trial under the provisions of criminal act, not the terrorism act. He was being charged with denigrating judicial rulings and publishing information regarding a crime he knew didn’t exist," he said.Jajili added that Nini was investigated for the articles that dealt with corruption, terrorism and drugs. The investigators asked the journalist to reveal his sources.