An appeal court in Settat confirmed, Tuesday, a four-year prison sentence against Moroccan YouTuber Mohamed Sekkaki, also knowns as «Moul Kaskita». The Settat-based YouTuber was sentenced to four years in prison and fined 40,000 dirhams, despite having apologized to the King and the public for the video he had been tried for, Arabic-language newspaper Al3omk reports. After a series of hearings, Moul Kaskita, was sentenced by a first instance court, in December, to four
On Tuesday, Amnesty International said that Morocco «harassed journalists, bloggers, artists and activists for expressing their views peacefully» in 2019. The NGO’s statement is part of an annual report on the human rights situation in the MENA region.
To cope with the «threat» of Morocco, the presidents of Ceuta and Melilla are now betting on the financial support of Spain’s central government. The two cities are calling for an independent economic model like the one adopted in Morocco.
Morocco’s national grains agency, known as ONICL, has launched a tender to import 354,000 tons of U.S.-origin durum wheat, European traders told Reuters on Monday. The operation, if completed, is to be done under a preferential tariff import quota, the news agency added. The tender will be closed on March 5. According to the same source, Morocco wants the shipments to arrive by May 31, traders added. For the record, Morocco approved a decree in December 2019, suspending customs
Moroccan cyclist El Mehdi Chokri is not the «first Arab and Muslim cyclist» to join Israel Start-Up Nation, a team launched in November 2014 with the aim of developing young cyclists, especially from Israel. According to Be-celt, Chokri will join AC Bisontine, in France, after he resigned from the Israeli team. The decision was taken after he announced earlier in 2020 that he had joined the Israel Cycling Academy, known currently as Israel Start-Up Nation. «Due to personal
To Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s relations with Muslim and Arab countries are not known to the public. Speaking at the annual leadership mission of the Conference of President of Major American Jewish Organizations, Sunday, Netanyahu revealed that «only 10% of Israel’s relations with Muslim countries are known», addressing his «efforts» to deepen ties with several states in the Middle East. During the same event, he stressed that
Spain has closed an administrative office in Laayoune. Well-informed sources told Yabiladi that the office was closed on February 13, following a decision that was taken in January during a meeting that brought Spain’s ambassador to Rabat Ricardo Díez-Hochleitner Rodríguez together with Foreign Affairs Minister Arancha Gonzalez. The office, which was located in a building that once belonged to the Spanish army, used to grant administrative papers to Sahrawis with
A number of chat groups on Telegram, a cloud-based instant messaging and voice over IP service, have reportedly been involved in sextortion in the Netherlands. The anonymous groups post photos of naked Dutch girls, including thoses of Dutch-Moroccans, and threaten to leak their full names, phone numbers and addresses to the public, Het Parool reports. To prevent their personal information from being leaked to the public, the victims are asked to engage in sexual intercourses with their
Moroccan jurist Ahmed Raissouni and his recent «fatwa» on micro loans in Morocco has stirred controversy among Moroccan salafists. They urged the head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars to review his «opinion» on the matter.
UK-based upstream gas company Sound Energy PLC has said that the deal on purchasing its Morocco assets has been put on hold, UK Investor Magazine reported on Monday. The firm announced that the private energy firm who agreed to buy its assets in Morocco has failed to show proof of funds. «The Purchaser has not yet demonstrated to the Company’s satisfaction the proof of funds required in order to advance the Proposed Transaction and nor has a sale and purchase agreement been