Top Moroccan newspaper editor released from prison

A free man, Rachid Nini, editor of the country’s most read daily al-Massae, remained defiant, condemning his conviction upon his release Saturday.

His trial and the verdict in June outraged Moroccan journalists because it was conducted under Morocco’s criminal code, not the media law, and was seen as an attack on freedom of expression.

Nini was known for his vitriolic newspaper columns that attacked powerful members of society.

Prosecutors convicted him under the penal code for “trying to discredit and influence a court and publishing information on crimes that haven’t been proven,” according to the state-run news agency.