Solidarity swells in Morocco after crackdown on free expression

Moroccan journalist Omar Radi has been released pending trial in March, but other YouTubers, rappers and students remain in jail for criticizing the king and the regime.
Demonstrators shoot slogans and hold a banner showing a portrait of Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist detained over tweet criticising judge, during a demonstration, on December 28, 2019, in the city of Rabat. (Photo by STR / AFP) (Photo by STR/AFP via Getty Images)
Demonstrators shout slogans and hold a banner showing a portrait of Omar Radi, a Moroccan journalist detained over a tweet criticizing a judge, during a demonstration in Rabat, Morocco, Dec. 28, 2019. - STR/AFP via Getty Images
sebastianbouknight.jpg
Sebastian Bouknight

Omar Radi was in good spirits, mostly.

The Moroccan journalist had just been let out of a Casablanca jail on New Year’s Eve, five days after being arrested for criticizing a judge on Twitter. His freedom was uncertain pending a second trial in March, but the flood of public support for him and other political prisoners made things lighter. 

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