Arab Press Takes a Hit (2)

Update on the pressure on Morocco's independent press:

Moroccan editor Aboubakr Jamai resigned Thursday in hopes of sparing his paper, Le Journal Hebdomadaire, from closure after a court ordered him to pay disproportionate damages in a government-supported libel suit. Joel Simon of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists said it is a "sad day" for Morocco and called Jamai one of the country's "best and most courageous journalists." (See CPJ statement)

Also this week, a Moroccan court gave two journalists at another independent weekly, Nichane, suspended three-year sentences and closed the paper for two months for publishing a story containing jokes about Islam. Driss Ksikes and Sanaa al-Aji were convinced of denigrating religion.

By Scott MacLeod/Cairo