Morocco Jails Press Freedom Advocate

On March 17, Hicham Mansouri was arrested in his home. According to Front Line Defenders, a Dublin-based international human rights group, he was beaten and stripped of his clothes without being given an immediate reason. He was then sentenced to 10 months in prison and a $4,057 fine, an action condemned by the Committee to Protect Journalists.

The charges? Adultery and starting a brothel.

According to Mansouri's lawyer, he was stripped naked to give the appearance that he was engaged in adultery with the woman he was with (later identified as his partner by the local news). In local reports she was described as a woman who was separated from her husband, but not officially divorced. The police, however, maintain that they caught him in the caught. In Morocco, adultery is a criminal offense.

Mansouri is a project manager for the Moroccan Association for Investigative journalism, a group formed to support journalists in the country. Before his arrest, he had been working on a report about alleged Internet surveillance of activists and journalists by the Moroccan authorities. His lawyer and colleagues insist that the charges were fabricated to punish his work.

Last September, Mansouri was severely beaten by two men, an act believed to be politically motivated. It took him six weeks to recover. Currently, he is being held in Zaki prison in Sale where he is suffering because of poor conditions. Morocco ranks 130 on Reporters Without Borders 2015 Press Freedom Index.

For the full story, visit CPJ.org.

Edward Snowden Wants to Return to the U.S.

At a news conference on Tuesday, Edward Snowden's lawyer stated that he was ready to return to the U.S., but only under the guarantee of a legal and impartial trial. Snowden has been in Russia since 2013, when he fled to the country from Hong Kong. After his temporary asylum expired in August, the Russian government granted him a three-year residence permit.

A 2013 letter from Attorney General Eric Holder promised that Snowden would not face the death penalty upon returning to the U.S. His lawyer, however, wants assurance of a fair trial as well. If Snowden does indeed return to the U.S., he will face charges under the Espionage Act.

This is not the first time that Snowden has stated he wants to return home. In fact, he insists his actions were done in the interest of serving his country. For the full story, visit POLITICO. 


What do you think? Was Snowden truly trying to speak out against violations of the Constitution? Should he be granted clemency?

John Peter Zenger: The Start of Press Freedom

The first known freedom of the press case in the United States was the trial of John Peter Zenger in 1735 

Zenger (born 1697, Germany--died July 28, 1746, New York City) was the printer of a paper called the New York Weekly Journal. The publication spoke out against the corruption of the royal governor, William S. Cosby. Zenger did not write the articles, he merely printed what his sources gave him. When he refused to name the writers, he was thrown into jail.

His famous acquittal in the following libel suit established the first important victory for press freedom in the English colonies of North America.

To see the movie on YouTube click here 

Studio One: The Trial of John Peter Zenger 1953. 

http://www.earlyamerica.com/earlyamerica/bookmarks/zenger/zenger1.html