Appeal Court upholds libel fine on Moroccan newspaper

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Appeal Court upholds libel fine on Moroccan newspaper


Rabat, Morocco, 04/19 - The Court of Appeal in Rabat Tuesday upheld the 270,000-Euro damages imposed by a lower court on Morocco`s weekly "Le Journal Hebdomadaire" for libelling the Brussels-based European Strategic Intelligence and Security (ESISC).

The newspaper had in an article last December questioned the impartiality of the ESISC in the Western Sahara conflict involving Morocco and the Algeria-backed Polisario Front, which has declared the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic on the disputed former Spanish territory.

The lower court also fined the newspaper`s editorial director, Aboubakr Jamaï and the author of the article, Fahd Iraqi 4,500 Euro on the case.