The Public Prosecutor’s Office in Morocco decided today, Wednesday, to release journalist Ali Al-Murabit , who was arrested last Sunday. His arrest sparked a wave of solidarity in Morocco and some European countries, especially in France and Spain.
A statement from the Casablanca Public Prosecutor's Office announced that "the Public Prosecutor's Office decided to release Ali Lmrabet after reviewing and studying the various procedural documents, completing the investigation, and conducting the necessary technical examinations." The statement added that, "after reviewing and studying the various procedural documents, completing the investigation, and conducting the necessary technical examinations, the Public Prosecutor's Office decided to release the individual in question and return to him the items seized from him, namely two computers, a storage device, and a mobile phone." The same source concluded that the appropriate legal measures will be taken upon completion of the investigation.
The arrest of Ali Lmrabet last Sunday at Tangier airport in northern Morocco, upon his arrival from Barcelona, Spain, sparked a wave of international solidarity and media coverage. Major international newspapers, such as El País, El Mundo, El Periódico, and Diario in Spain, and Libération, Le Monde, and Mediapart in France, all took note of the story. El País published a strong editorial on Tuesday of this week questioning whether Morocco would still be able to co-host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal while journalists were being detained. Various other media outlets expressed concern about the state of freedom of expression in Morocco.
Several international organizations, including Reporters Without Borders, the International Federation for Human Rights, and the Federation of Spanish Press Associations, as well as human rights groups such as the Moroccan Association for Human Rights, have called for the immediate release of Ali Lmrabet. The Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs has also expressed interest in the matter, and Foreign Minister Manuel Álvarez confirmed that his ministry is reviewing the case.
Ali Lmrabet is considered one of the journalists who spearheaded the wave of independent journalism from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, through his work as editor-in-chief of the magazine "Le Journal" and his founding of "Demain Magazine" in both Arabic and French. He was arrested in 2003 for writings about the monarchy before being released by royal pardon in 2004. He also received one of the strangest sentences in the history of Moroccan and international journalism: a ten-year ban on writing for articles about the Sahara. Lmrabet has worked for international newspapers, including the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, and currently hosts a YouTube podcast discussing issues of concern to Morocco.
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