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The international Arabic-speaking press has been abuzz with revelations made by Hamid El Mahdaoui concerning a confidential meeting of the Ethics Committee. This committee operates under the provisional commission overseeing the press sector in Morocco, which has taken over from the National Press Council. The meeting was convened to discuss the rejection of El Mahdaoui's application for a press card.
On Saturday, the American public broadcaster Al Hurra reported: «A scandal shakes the Moroccan press... and the Ethics Committee is at the heart of the storm!» The U.S. government-funded media outlet pointed out that «the recording released by El Mahdaoui exposed part of the internal discussions within the committee, established by the provisional body overseeing the press and publishing sectors, including statements considered 'unethical'». Al Hurra further noted that «El Mahdaoui defended the release of the recording as serving the public interest, arguing that its contents 'transcend the internal context of the meeting' and reveal 'legal and ethical breaches warranting a public debate'».
In a parallel development, Russian media outlet RT Arabic published the same report but mistakenly used a photo of Toufiq Bouachrine instead of Hamid El Mahdaoui.
The site Rai Al Youm, led by Palestinian journalist Abdelbari Atouan, remarked that «a moral and legal scandal is shaking Morocco: leaks from the Press Ethics Committee are unsettling the sector and compromising the dignity of the legal profession. Allegations of interference in the judiciary and challenges to the authority of higher institutions are mounting, with calls from political parties and lawyers for an investigation.»
The daily Al Quds Al Arabi echoed this sentiment, stating that «the uproar triggered by Moroccan journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui, following the release of a confidential excerpt from an internal meeting of the Professional Ethics Committee, has sparked significant debate. This leak has disrupted public discourse on the state of the Moroccan press and unveiled the inner workings of the committee, as well as the conduct of its members in their interactions with journalists, lawyers, and the judiciary.»
The Qatari newspaper Al Arabi Al Jadeed, published from London, observed that «the release by Moroccan journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui of a recording from a meeting of the Ethics and Discipline Commission of the National Press and Publishing Council has ignited a fiery debate, reaching the halls of Parliament. Professional and political organizations are calling for an investigation.»
