RSF Highlights Five Years of Press Freedom Restrictions in Morocco

As Morocco held parliamentary elections on 23 September 2026, media advocacy group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) released an assessment outlining what it described as a five-year period of tightened restrictions on press freedom and the right to information in the country.

According to RSF, the Moroccan legal system continues to be used against journalists critical of the authorities, while media self-regulation has stalled and digital pressures have increased alongside legal proceedings. The organisation called on authorities to end ongoing pressures against the press.

RSF highlighted five key developments illustrating challenges to Moroccan journalism between 2021 and 2026:

• Closure of Akhbar Al-Yaoum and Legal Actions (2021): The independent daily ceased publication in March 2021 following years of legal proceedings. Director Taoufik Bouachrine, editor-in-chief Soulaiman Raissouni, and investigative journalists Omar Radi and Imad Stitoui faced heavy prison sentences. RSF also noted that their phones had been targeted with Pegasus spyware.
• Use of the Penal Code (2021–2026): RSF reported a systematic use of the penal code rather than the press code to prosecute journalists. Cases cited include journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui, sentenced to 18 months in prison in November 2024 and subjected to multiple lawsuits from the Minister of Justice in 2025. Other journalists faced prolonged or repeated legal challenges, including Ali Anouzla, Hicham El Amrani, and Franco-Moroccan journalist Ali Lmrabet.
• Aftermath of Royal Pardons (2024): While a royal pardon on 29 July 2024 resulted in the release of Bouachrine, Radi, Raissouni, and academic Maâti Monjib, RSF stated that new legal actions and cyber-harassment targeting the released figures followed in subsequent months.
• Regulatory Instability at the National Press Council (2023–2026): The National Press Council (CNP) operated under a provisional committee beginning in 2023. Legislative reforms to the regulatory body passed in June 2026 following constitutional revisions, though the arrangement drew criticism from media sectors before new elections occurred on 15 September 2026.
• Reporting Obstacles and Online Harassment: RSF documented incidents of journalists being obstructed or expelled while reporting on the ground. These included the September 2023 expulsion of French journalists Quentin Müller and Thérèse Di Campo, reporting restrictions during youth protests in autumn 2025, and the August 2026 expulsion of Spanish news crews from EFE and RTVE in Fnideq. The organisation also cited intensifying online defamation campaigns against independent journalists.

In the 2026 RSF World Press Freedom Index, Morocco is ranked 105th out of 180 countries and territories.

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