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Both Morocco and Algeria have a press code, which punishes insulting a foreign head of state. The latest situation of this kind was broadcast by Algerian channel Echourouk TV. In Algeria, article 123 of the 2012 organic law on information fines anyone found guilty of «offending» a foreign head of state.
«Contempt committed through one of the means of information provided for by this organic law, towards foreign heads of state and members of diplomatic missions accredited to the Government of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, exposes its author to a fine of 25,000 to 100,000 DA (150 to 600 €)».
Until now, the Echourouk TV channel, which featured an episode that caricatured the King of Morocco, has escaped this measure. Long before broadcasting on Saturday, February 13, the controversial episode of said talk shows, other Algerian media had targeted the Moroccan monarchy.
Previous convictions in Morocco
In Morocco, the Press Code, in force since 2016, has dedicated an entire subsection to «attacks on the dignity of Heads of State and foreign diplomatic agents», with heavy fines.
The text reads that «anyone found guilty of offending foreign heads of state, heads of government and ministers will be fined from 100,000 to 300,000 dirhams (9,000 to 27,000 euros)».
The fine is slightly decreased (50,000 to 200,000 dirhams) when the victim is a foreign diplomat or consular agent accredited or commissioned to the King, according to article 82 of the same law. The prosecution takes place at the request of the embassy of the foreign state or of the Head of the Moroccan government, the law reads.
These fines, as heavy as they are, replace the 2002 version of the same law, which included a sentence of one month to one year in prison. In 2006, Driss Chahtane was handed a one-year suspended prison sentence for a caricature he published of former Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika on his weekly newspaper Al Mechaal. The trial was initiated by the Moroccan party.
In addition to the courts, the HACA ensures the dignity of foreign states
In 2009, Colonel Gaddafi brought to justice, through the Libyan embassy in Rabat, three Moroccan publications : Al Jarida Al Aoula, Al Ahdat Al Maghribia, and Al Massae, after publishing articles deemed «defamatory» against him. On June 29, 2009, the Casablanca Court of Appeal ordered the newspapers to pay a fine of 3 million dirhams for the benefit of the former Libyan president.
In addition to the courts, the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication is another safeguard that ensures respect for the dignity of foreign states or their presidents. HACA decreed in July 2020 the suspension for a week of a radio program MFM for «incitement to violence and hatred». One of the guests of the program had insulted the United Arab Emirates.
Sometimes even mere comments over a foreign country's news can put a strain on a professional career. Salaheddine Mezouar paid a heavy price by resigning from the presidency of the CGEM for having dared to criticize the security approach advocated by the Algerian military in the face of Hirak's demands in 2019.
