Although I posted reactions to Fouad Mourtada’s release at Global Voices last night (a story broken by bloggers and then, Global Voices Advocacy), several more English-language bloggers have expressed their thoughts on the matter since.

Hisham of Al Miraat shares my sentiment; that Fouad Mourtada’s release is only a start:

 The news from Morocco is a real sigh of relief for many bloggers, and HR activists who campaigned hard to make the case of Fouad known and widely published. But this is not a victory for democracy nor for HR (as the Moroccan writer Laila Lalami rightly pointed out on her blog) because the institutions of the monarchy have acted in clear subservience to the central power. And I don’t think that one can feel comfortable yet in a country where people are being imprisoned and later released according to the will and whims of one single person. Anyway, Fouad is now a free man. Until Mourtada’s arrest, Moroccans have enjoyed reasonably free access to the internet compared to the regional standards. They rightly spotted the danger of imprisoning Mourtada and they succesfully named and shamed the Moroccan government for what it did. Throughout the Arab World, though, many bloggers and other prisoners of opinion still languish in prisons sometimes without due process or any legal recourse.

The Arabist feels that Fouad’s release is better late than never:

 The Moroccan who was jailed for putting up a fake profile of Prince Moulay Rashid has been freed. This is great news, and while it should have never gotten to this, better late than never. I suppose the king wanted to make sure the message got across that the royal family is a no-go area for satirists and critics.

I will continue to post reactions, both here and at Global Voices Online, as I find them.  I can’t wait for mainstream news to pick up the story!

Fouad Mourtada has been released from prison after serving only 25 days of his sentence.

Mourtada, who was arrested on February 5 for impersonating Prince Moulay Rachid of Morocco, then sentenced on February 22 to three years in prison and $1,000 fine, has received an outpouring of support from bloggers around the world. Earlier today, I wrote a post for Global Voices Online which highlighted many of Mourtada’s supporters.

I am so happy for Mourtada’s family! His sister has kept in close touch with many bloggers, writing in both French and English and sharing news about Fouad. Although what Fouad did was stupid, he did not deserve his punishment…and now justice has, in a way, been served.