At a time when caricature has become a stand-alone component in major media institutions around the world, caricaturists in Morocco are still struggling to coexist in an environment lacking freedom and fraught with restrictions and red lines that are either imposed by society’s conservative nature or by the political system. Consequently, the freedom of expression and creativity of many Moroccan caricaturists is limited as they find themselves facing increasingly thicker red lines that are related to classic contraband issues such as the monarchy, the Western Sahara issue, religion and sex.

Khalid Gueddar is one of the most talented and daring caricaturists in Morocco. He is known for his bold caricatures that cover all kinds of religious, political and social taboos. He suffered the most from the authorities’ restrictions. In addition to being prosecuted because of the publication of some of his caricatures, there were additional attempts aimed at exploiting other issues [unrelated to his work] to discredit and silence him. Gueddar was sentenced by the Kenitra Court in early July 2015 to three months imprisonment on charges of public intoxication and insulting police officers in a case dating back to summer 2012. Gueddar denied the charges.

Gueddar seems confident that his conviction in court was based on political grounds, as the court’s decision coincided with the announcement of his being friends with satirical artist Bziz, who is banned from publishing caricatures, and left-wing journalist Ali Lmrabet, who went on a hunger strike in Geneva last month because of the Moroccan authorities' refusal to grant him administrative papers to found a satirical magazine. The Moroccan authorities attribute their decision to the fact that Lmrabet does not permanently reside in Morocco, but travels back and forth between Morocco, Spain and Geneva.

Gueddar said, “It does not take great intelligence to realize this. I was sentenced in absentia, and neither I nor my lawyer were notified of the trial date. I have already attended several court sessions, and the case has been postponed several times — and here they are raising the case three years later. They are trying to limit my freedom and stop me from expressing myself, and it is no surprise that they resorted to harassment when we [Gueddar, Lmrabet and Bziz] announced the creation of a satirical magazine, as this campaign coincided with restrictions on my colleague Ali Lmrabet, whom they denied the right to obtain a national identity card,”