Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet awarded in Spain

Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet has won the Veu Lliure Prize (Free Voice Prize) by PEN Catalonia, which awards authors who have suffered imprisonment or persecution because of their writing, Periodistas-es reports. The journalist was awarded during a ceremony that took place in Can Alcover in Spain.

Ali Lmrabet received this award for «his fight for freedom of expression in Morocco, particularly in the field of journalism», the same source wrote. The journalist «dedicated the award to the former director of Arabic-language newspaper Akhbar Alyaoum Taoufik Bouachrine, who is sentenced to 15 years in prison», as well as Moroccan journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui, who is sentenced to three years in prison.

«And yes, (...) I am still here», Lmrabet wrote in a Facebook post, in which he thanked the award’s organizers.

In 2003, Ali Lmrabet received the Agustin Merello award. During the same year, he was also awarded by the Paris-based NGO Reporters Without Border (RSF), which featured his name in its «100 Information Heroes» list.