Opposition members in the House of Representatives have criticized the government’s policies regarding media and the safeguarding of freedom of expression in the national press. They agreed on “the need to find a solution for the National Press Council and to restore the original value of the concept of self-regulation of the profession,” while also calling for “an end to prosecuting journalists under the criminal code, as some government ministers have done with political activists, journalists, human rights defenders, and bloggers,” according to their own statements.
This came during a meeting of the Committee on Education, Culture, and Communication in the first parliamentary chamber, on Wednesday, in the context of interventions by opposition groups reacting to two presentations delivered by the Minister of Culture, Youth, and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid. The presentations were titled: “Freedom of Expression and the Media in Promoting Human Rights in Our Country: Culture and Practice,” and “Social Media and Regulatory Approaches to Limit the Negative Effects of Digital Applications.”
An Ambiguous Situation
Omar Aanan, a deputy from the Socialist Group – Federal Opposition, stated that “since the adoption of the 2011 Constitution, the position of freedom of expression has been reinforced as an irrevocable constitutional right and as a fundamental condition for any serious political or societal practice.” He added: “Nearly fifteen years later, we find ourselves facing deep contradictions. On one hand, the international community praises Morocco’s relative improvement in human freedom indicators. On the other, day-to-day practices still reflect structural imbalances in managing this basic right.”
Aanan referred to the 2024 “Human Freedom” report published by the U.S.-based Cato Institute, which showed that Morocco advanced five positions to rank 130th out of 165 countries. He commented: “While this data carries a positive meaning, it should not conceal the signs of regression we are actually experiencing,” emphasizing that criminal prosecutions against journalists, social activists, and human rights defenders are still on the rise. This contradicts the principles of the rule of law, which are based on gradual sanctions and a preference for disciplinary or civil mechanisms over punitive ones.
The same deputy spoke about the media sector’s chronic structural fragility, explaining that “statistics from the National Union of the Moroccan Press indicate that about 62% of journalists do not have permanent contracts and work under fragile professional and economic conditions. This deprives them of independence and professionalism and weakens the quality of journalistic output.” He added: “Many independent media outlets are struggling to survive in the absence of transparent and fair funding mechanisms.”
He also pointed to the continued dominance and lack of clarity in the state media sector, noting that “appointments to media leadership positions are made without clear criteria of competence and pluralism, and are sometimes used as tools for political propaganda instead of being platforms for public debate and democratic education.” He called for “a special law on public media that ends partisan appointments, ensures editorial and financial independence, and enshrines content pluralism.”
The opposition bloc spokesperson called for “reopening the review process of the Press and Publications Code to align it with the Constitution and the international standards ratified by Morocco,” and for “the creation of a dedicated support fund for serious and investigative journalism that would protect journalists from economic pressures and ensure diverse angles of analysis and coverage of pressing issues. (…) The situation in our country regarding these requirements remains at various stages of discussion and demands, without tangible progress in several areas.”
Toward an Objective Assessment
Nadia El Tahami, a deputy from the Party of Progress and Socialism in the House of Representatives, noted “the absence of any recent arrests directly related to freedom of the press,” expressing hope that “threats made by certain public officials to prosecute journalists for expressing opinions related to public affairs and governance will cease…”
