On 2 March 2010, the Appeal Court in Casablanca adjourned the hearing in the trial of Mr El Mustapha Addari until 16 March 2010. El Mustapha Addari is the head of the Khenifra branch of the Association Marocaine des Droits Humains - AMDH (Moroccan Association for Human Rights).

Further Information

El Mustapha Addari together with Ms Idriss Chahtane, publisher of the “Almichaal” weekly newspaper, were convicted on 27 October 2009 of defaming a powerful local family and sentenced to three-month suspended prison sentences. They were also ordered to pay a fine of 5,000 Dirhams (446 Euro) each and to jointly pay 500,000 Dirhams (44,600 Euro) in damages to the plaintiff.

The defamation charges are based on an interview with El Mustapha Addari which was published in issue 191 of “Almichaal” on 27 November 2008 under the title “Scandals of the King’s Aunts”. The article included details of cases of alleged abuses by the King’s aunt and members of her family against local citizens.

Front Line believes that the conviction of El Mustapha Addari is directly related to his human rights activities.