Aggressions against journalists while on duty decreased in 2014

Rabat - The year 2014 was marked by a decrease in aggressions against journalists while on duty, wrote the 2014 annual report on efforts for press freedom promotion.

Quoting data in reports by Morocco's press union (SNPM), the report, presented on Wednesday in Rabat during a communication meeting by communication minister, government spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi, underlined that the number of reporters who were assault victims while doing their job reached 14 in 2014, adding that this is the same figure registered in 2013, against 20 cases in 2012, noting that around 20,000 protests are staged every year in Morocco.

The report wrote that, unlike other countries, Morocco did not record in 2014 any case of torture or kidnapping because of threats, suspension of business activities due to political pressure, or inability to practice the profession because of gender, origin or religion.

He added that no journalist was killed or imprisoned without trial, no prison sentence was given against journalists and no journalist was forced into exile to escape repression or prosecution because of his work or was stripped of his accreditation. The report also shows that no private TV channel's broadcast was interrupted, and no new website was shut down by authorities, he said, noting the existence of nearly 500 news websites in Morocco.