Moroccan authorities arrest journalist Ali Lmrabet over alleged false information

New York, July 14, 2026 – Moroccan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release French-Moroccan freelance journalist Ali Lmrabet, who has faced decades of pressure over his critical reporting, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

On Sunday, July 12, authorities arrested Lmrabet upon his arrival at a Tangier airport from Spain, where he has lived since 2015, on allegations of “disseminating false information” and “undermining constitutional institutions.” Authorities informed Lmrabet that he was the subject of multiple arrest warrants before transferring him to Casablanca for questioning by Morocco’s National Brigade. On July 13, Lmrabet appeared before the prosecutor’s office, which ordered him held in pretrial detention pending an investigation.  

“After years of judicial harassment that forced veteran journalist Ali Lmrabet to build his life and career outside Morocco, authorities detained him the moment he returned to the country,” said CPJ Regional Director Sara Qudah. “Moroccan authorities should immediately release Lmrabet and stop using the justice system to target journalists for their reporting.”

Lmrabet, a journalist and blogger with over 200 thousand followers on Facebook and YouTube combined, has faced harassment for more than two decades because of his reporting and criticism of the Moroccan authorities. He founded the now-defunct French-language weekly Demain and its Arabic-language sister publication Doumane. 

“He [Lmrabet] remained calm throughout, firmly convinced of the integrity of his convictions and of his journalistic work, which fully complies with the principles of journalistic ethics,” his wife, Laura Feliu, told CPJ over the phone. “He considers his detention to be a form of hostage-taking, as he has been practicing his profession from Spain and has not maintained a residence in Morocco for several years.” 

In 2003, Lmrabet was sentenced to four years in prison, later reduced to three on appeal, over articles, interviews, cartoons, and satirical content critical of the monarchy. His newspapers, Demain and Doumane, were also shut down. He was released on July 1, 2004, following a royal pardon. 

In 2005, authorities banned him from practicing journalism in Morocco for 10 years over comments concerning Sahrawis, an ethnic group from the contested Western Sahara, living in Algeria’s Tindouf refugee camps. He has since continued reporting from Barcelona. 

CPJ emailed the Moroccan Ministry of Interior, the French embassy in Rabat, and the office of the French prime minister for comment on Lmrabet’s arrest but did not receive a response.