Middle East & North Africa - Confirmed downward trends

Reporters without borders

Morocco's drop (-8 places) reflects the authorities' tension over issues relating to press freedom, evident since early 2009. The sentencing of a journalist to one year in prison without possibility of parole (he will serve eight months), the arbitrary closing down of a newspaper, the financial ruin of another newspaper, orchestrated by the authorities, etc. – all practices which explain Morocco's fall in the Index rankings. Tunisia's score was (-10), falling in position from 154th to 164rd (...)

© Reporters sans frontières - mercredi 20 octobre 2010