The Fouad Mourtada Affair

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Fouad Mourtada is a 26-year old Moroccan engineer who was sentenced by a Casablanca court to three years in prison for creating a fake profile of the king’s brother on Facebook. He was convicted on February 23rd, 2008 of “villainous practices linked to the alleged theft" of the Crown Prince Moulay Rachid's identity. Fouad was sentenced to 3 years of jail plus a USD 1,350 fine. [1] [2]

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According to Maghreb Arab Presse "members of the royal family have neither web sites nor blogs, and the only official way to obtain information about them is through the portal of the Maghreb Arab Press Agency (MAP-national)".

According to Help Free Fouad web site, one week after his disappearance and imprisonment by the Moroccan police on Tuesday, February 5th, Fouad's family was able to visit him on Tuesday, February 12th afternoon at Oukacha jail in Casablanca, Morocco. Fouad had stated that he was embarked, blindfolded, interrogated, persecuted, beaten up, slapped, spat on, slammed for hours with a tool on the head and the legs until he lost consciousness several times and lost the notion of time[3].

Concerning the Facebook account, Fouad indicated that he created the account (about the Prince) on January 15, 2008. It remained on line a few days before somebody closed it. In his defence, Fouad brings up the fact that there are many profiles of celebrities on Facebook and that there was no malicious intent on his part, that he admired the prince and that the profile was set up for fun. [4][5] at the request of the defense [6].

According to Fouad's lawyer, Ali Ammar, he could be facing 5 years of prison "for having done what thousands of people throughout the world do everyday: Create a profile of a celebrity or a star on Facebook". [7]

On February 19th, a number of influential Moroccan blogs sites were 'on strike', protesting over the detention of Fouad. [8]

On February 23th, Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to three years in jail for the alleged creation of the fake Facebook profile and fined 10,000 Dirhams (USD 1,350).[9]


On the evening of March 18, 2008, Fouad was released by a royal pardon after spending 43 days in jail.[10]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Jail for Facebook spoof Moroccan. BBC News.
  2. ^ The Fake Prince of Facebook. The Nation.
  3. ^ Affaire Facebook au Maroc : Fouad Mourtada a été torturé (French). Indymedia.
  4. ^ Moroccan man's trial for impersonating a prince on Facebook postponed. CBC News.
  5. ^ Moroccan man's trial for impersonating a prince on Facebook postponed. Yahoo.
  6. ^ Court postpones trial of alleged Royal identity fraudster to February 22. Maghreb Arab Presse.
  7. ^ Morocco: Facebook’s fake prince could face five years in prison. Global Voices.
  8. ^ Morocco: Bloggers Rally Behind Fouad Mourtada. Global Voices.
  9. ^ Jail for Facebook spoof Moroccan, BBC NEWS, 23 février 2008.
  10. ^ [1], Help Free Fouad Site.

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