LE SOIR ECHOS (Morocco), LA VIE ECO (Morocco), AFP
OUJDA - A Moroccan court has ordered the investigation of a controversial imam, Abdellah Nhari, for inciting hatred, reports Le Soir Echos.
In a video posted on YouTube (see below), Nhari suggests that Mokhtar Laghzioui, editor-in-chief of the Arabic newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, "must be killed" in reaction to his appearance on the new pan-Arabist news channel Al Mayadeen, where he defended individual rights for Moroccan people, especially pertaining to sexual liberties.
The imam also criticizes the Moroccan Association of Human Rights (AMDH), which has previously launched an appeal to legalize sexual relations outside of marriage. "These types of secular organizations are corrupt and financed by Europe and the West," Nhari said.
As AFP reported, the court in the Moroccan city of Oujda, declared Sunday that Nhari's speech is "likely to lead to crime, incitement of violence through preaching."
The weekly French-language Moroccan newspaper La Vie éco reported Tuesday that the Moroccan Union of Newspaper Editors (FMEJ) was "concerned and shocked" by the video, declaring that journalists should have the right to express their opinions within the framework of the law.
Mokhtar Laghzioui said: "I am relieved the authorities have taken this threat seriously. This is not about any one person. This is a real danger to individual freedom in Morocco."
