Prominent Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet released from custody

Moroccan activists warn of an intensifying crackdown on regime critics after the arrest of a journalist and a rapper.A prominent Moroccan journalist and government critic has been released from police custody three days after his arrest over defamation charges, the public prosecutor has said.Ali Lmrabet, a 66-year-old leading figure in Morocco’s independent press, was arrested at Tangier airport on Sunday after arriving from Spain, where has been based for years. He was released on Wednesday after public pressure for his release from several media rights groups, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Gen Z protesters rally across Morocco demanding health, education reformslist 2 of 3Two killed, hundreds arrested in Morocco protests rocking the nationlist 3 of 3Morocco king calls for social reforms amid youth-led protestsend of list“I only practice journalism. I don’t engage in politics,” he told RSF after his release. “The fact that I practice independent journalism seems to bother a lot of people.”An investigation against Lmrabet remains open, according to the public prosecutor, who said the journalist is being probed over “defamatory and insulting remarks against individuals and institutions”.RSF welcomed his release and called on Moroccan authorities to dismiss the case against him. It remains unclear whether Lmrabet is now allowed to leave the country.Lmrabet previously published weekly publications Demain Magazine and the Arabic-language Doumane in Morocco before both were banned in 2003 after he was convicted of insulting the king, among other charges.He was then sentenced to three years in prison but was released in early 2004 under a royal pardon. Lmrabet was later banned from working in journalism in Morocco between April 2005 and April 2015 after being convicted of defamation over comments on displaced people from Western Sahara, an area largely controlled by Morocco but disputed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.Mehdi El Youbi was arrested in Morocco, days after being barred from returning to Marseille, France, where he’s been based since 2017 [Courtesy of supporters of Mehdi El Youbi]Meanwhile, outspoken rapper and filmmaker Mehdi El Youbi was brought before a court in Casablanca on Wednesday, despite not having a lawyer present due to a lawyers’ strike in Morocco, his supporters said.