Islamabad : A prominent Moroccan journalist and government critic has been released from police custody three days after his arrest over defamation charges, the public prosecutor has said.
Ali Lmrabet, a 66-year-old leading figure in Morocco’s independent press, was arrested at Tangier airport on Sunday after arriving from Spain, where has been based for years. He was released on Wednesday after public pressure for his release from several media rights groups, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ).
An investigation against Lmrabet remains open, according to the public prosecutor, who said the journalist is being probed over “defamatory and insulting remarks against individuals and institutions”.
RSF welcomed his release and called on Moroccan authorities to dismiss the case against him. It remains unclear whether Lmrabet is now allowed to leave the country.
Lmrabet previously published weekly publications Demain Magazine and the Arabic-language Doumane in Morocco before both were banned in 2003 after he was convicted of insulting the king, among other charges.
He was then sentenced to three years in prison but was released in early 2004 under a royal pardon. Lmrabet was later banned from working in journalism in Morocco between April 2005 and April 2015 after being convicted of defamation over comments on displaced people from Western Sahara, an area largely controlled by Morocco but disputed by the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
In a statement released on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, the King’s Prosecutor at the Casablanca Criminal Court announced that the investigation and the necessary technical assessments would continue.
Ali Lmrabet was released on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. This was decided by the King’s Prosecutor at the Casablanca Criminal Court, who announced the release after reviewing the various documents in the proceedings. In a public statement, the King’s Prosecutor also announced that the investigation and the necessary technical assessments would continue.
Ali Lmrabet was brought before the prosecutor’s office on Wednesday where he was questioned about the charges against him, in accordance with the provisions of the law, while enjoying all the rights and guarantees provided by law, including his submission to a medical examination.
The public prosecutor clarified that the prosecutor’s office has also decided to return the seized items in its possession, namely two computers, a USB drive, and a mobile phone. The appropriate legal measures will be taken once the investigation is complete.
Ali Lmrabet was arrested on Sunday, July 12, 2026, upon his arrival at Tangier airport, is known for his critical stance towards the authorities. The investigation follows online posts “containing defamatory and abusive remarks against individuals and institutions, and contemptuous remarks towards bodies established by law”.
