CPJ (Committee to Protect Journalists) has released a special report entitled The Moroccan Facade, which outlines media law, court cases and harassment received by journalists in Morocco.

Despite boasting a lively print press, CPJ found, Morocco has come to rely on a stealthy system of judicial and financial controls to keep enterprising journalists in check. The record shows that press freedom conditions are far from the glowing version furnished by officials and many journalists.

The article also mentions the low literacy rate and the influence of the French-language media and press as compared to Arabic.

My favorite part of the article, however, is the exultory praise given to Aboubakr Jamai, perhaps Morocco’s best journalist and editor, who recently moved to the United States with his family after his magazine, Le Journal, was slapped with an unpayable fine.

The article even mentions the influence Kuwaitis had on the Nichane ban, something which - at the time- few people believed.

It’s quite long, but worth reading every word.