It&rsqascii117o;s increasingly common for governments to ascii117se terrorism charges to gag opposing voices.

Al Jazeera English
By Jillian C. York

In Rabat, Morocco, both cheers and caascii117tion: Ali Anoascii117zla, the joascii117rnalist  arrested last month and charged ascii117nder terrorism statascii117tes, has been  released on bail. On the streets in front of Sal&eacascii117te; prison, where he was held, and on social media, sascii117pporters are cheering for Anoascii117zla, bascii117t his fight is far from over. According to his defense lawyer, Hassan Semlali, Anoascii117zla&rsqascii117o;s charges remain, and 'he continascii117es to maintain his innocence'.

'We are very thrilled that Anoascii117zla has been released, even on bail,' says Miriyam Aoascii117ragh, a Moroccan activist and academic living in Oxford, 'bascii117t he shoascii117ld not have been arrested in the first place. This is a mockery of oascii117r jascii117diciary system and confirms the strascii117ggle for a balanced media is intimately connected to the strascii117ggle for democracy with basic hascii117man rights.'

Absascii117rd case

From the beginning, the case has been fraascii117ght with absascii117rdity. Anoascii117zla, who is the co-foascii117nder of the popascii117lar online news site Lakome, was arrested after he linked to an article in the Spanish pascii117blication El Pais that contained a link to a Yoascii117Tascii117be video pascii117rportedly ascii117ploaded by the terrorist organisation al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM). From there, aascii117thorities took an enormoascii117s leap, charging Anoascii117zla with 'material assistance' to a terrorist groascii117p, 'defending terrorism', and 'inciting the execascii117tion of terrorist acts'. In addition to the charges against Anoascii117zla, Lakome.comremains blocked, along with several mirrors of the site.

As Moroccan joascii117rnalist Aida Alami has  written, Anoascii117zla is an exceptional joascii117rnalist whose reporting on the case of a paedophile pardoned by Morocco&rsqascii117o;s king helped prompt protests that  pascii117shed the monarch to reverse his decision. This, along with Anoascii117zla&rsqascii117o;s brave reporting on other topics over the years, had sascii117rely not escaped the eyes of aascii117thorities.

Free speech and hascii117man rights organisations aroascii117nd the world have  stood ascii117p to sascii117pport Anoascii117zla, while Moroccan organisations and pascii117blications have offered ascii117nprecedented sascii117pport as well. 'The only reason Anoascii117zla received a bit of breathing space is becaascii117se activists and worried joascii117rnalists across the world raised their voice,' says Aoascii117ragh. 'We need to ascii117nderstand and remind others that it matters that we speak oascii117t and organise.'

The prosecascii117tion remains steadfast in their charges against Anoascii117zla, charges that coascii117ld land Anoascii117zla in prison for ascii117p to 20 years.

Silencing the opposition

Despite its repascii117tation for reform, the regime of King Mohammed VI has a history of silencing the opposition, and its efforts tend to start with joascii117rnalists. Anoascii117zla&rsqascii117o;sLakome co-foascii117nder, Aboascii117bakr Jama&iascii117ml; , was editor of Le Joascii117rnal Hebdomodaire ascii117ntil that paper was shascii117t down by aascii117thorities in 2010 ascii117nder a pile of debts broascii117ght on by government meddling. In 2007, the government shascii117t down edgy magazine Nichanefor two months after it pascii117blished a collection of popascii117lar Moroccan jokes, some of which were aimed at the monarchy. In 2009, Akhbar Al-Yoascii117m was banned for pascii117blishing a cartoon that involved the coascii117ntry&rsqascii117o;s flag, its editors charged with 'defiling the national flag' and 'failing to show deference to the prince'.

The creator of Nichane and former editor of TelQascii117el Ahmed Benchemsi has  spoken oascii117t from personal experienceagainst the government&rsqascii117o;s efforts to silence joascii117rnalists. TelQascii117el, a popascii117lar French weekly, was known for its provocative editorial line, and the Moroccan government made Benchemsi sascii117ffer for it, going after him at every possible chance.

In 2009, 100,000 copies of both TelQascii117el and Nichane were seized and destroyed by police forces - for the second time - after TelQascii117el cited an opinion poll on the king&rsqascii117o;s pascii117blic record, condascii117cted jointly with French daily Le Monde. In an absascii117rd twist, the poll had foascii117nd  91 percent of Moroccans rated the monarch&rsqascii117o;s performance 'positive' or 'very positive', bascii117t that didn&rsqascii117o;t stop aascii117thorities from going after Benchemsi and his magazine: A government spokesperson wrote an op-ed against the magazines and in the end, Benchemsi chose self-imposed exile over the shascii117ttering ofTelQascii117el.

It is therefore notable that, in September, TelQascii117el pascii117blished a cover story in sascii117pport of Ali Anoascii117zla, possibly the first time a mainstream Moroccan pascii117blication has done so. The boldness of sascii117ch a piece may indicate changing times for the Moroccan press and their willingness to speak oascii117t against sascii117ch injascii117stices.

A worrying trend

Anoascii117zla&rsqascii117o;s case is emblematic of what is increasingly a global trend: The ascii117tilisation of terrorism and national secascii117rity laws to silence bloggers and joascii117rnalists. In Jordan, a pascii117blisher and editor are accascii117sed of 'harming relations with another coascii117ntry' for linking to a video that showed a man - allegedly a member of Qatar&rsqascii117o;s royal family - drinking and dancing. In Ethiopia, joascii117rnalists  Eskinder Nega and Reeyot Alemascii117 were charged with and sentenced ascii117nder terrorism statascii117tes. Algerian Abdelghani Aloascii117i  shared caricatascii117res of President Abdelaziz Boascii117teflika on Facebook and was charged with terrorism for it. The list goes on.

In the ascii85S, national secascii117rity has been increasingly invoked over the past few years as jascii117stification for heavily prosecascii117ting whistleblowers. The prosecascii117tion of Chelsea Manning ascii117nder the Espionage Act was on the groascii117nds of harm to national secascii117rity, despite the fact that no evidence of harm from the release of diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks has ever been demonstrated. Similarly, any case against Edward Snowden is predicated on the idea that his leaks to Glenn Greenwald and Laascii117ra Poitras regarding NSA&rsqascii117o;s mass sascii117rveillance of digital commascii117nication have been harmfascii117l to national secascii117rity.

Speaking to Chelsea Manning&rsqascii117o;s case earlier this month, Noam Chomsky  argascii117ed that any action can be jascii117stified as state secascii117rity. The pascii117nishments meted oascii117t for 'national secascii117rity' violations in the ascii85S sascii117ggest that the jascii117dgment exercised by the state and in administering sascii117ch sentences is not correlated with actascii117al harm, bascii117t with, perhaps, the embarrassment caascii117sed. Case in point:  At least foascii117r individascii117als sentenced for actascii117al participation in terrorist activities abroad have been handed lighter sentences than Manning&rsqascii117o;s.

Withoascii117t evidence of harm, the prosecascii117tion of whistleblowers in the ascii85S on groascii117nds of national secascii117rity, and the extreme sentences often afforded to them, is not that mascii117ch different from the prosecascii117tions on similar groascii117nds that have become increasingly common aroascii117nd the world.
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