This is a rough translation of the comments of jailed journalist Ali Mrabet, who is on a hunger strike after having been sentenced to three years in prison, from Mohcen Blog.
"I am laughing under a cloak, pardon me, a curtain: I am in a hospital bed -- .. I laugh when I remember the tone of the prosecutor when he asked that I be given the maximum sentence. 'Lmrabet should feel the full weight of the law because he has committed a crime of extreme gravity. . .' It's true. What I did was very serious. I criminally mocked our good old regime. I ridiculed in an irresponsible manner our hypocritical culture and the opportunists in our ruling class. . .
"I am guilty of introducing satire and humorous journalism into a society that needs them badly. A society that has grown tired of bemoaning its misfortunes and which found in my paper a chance to revenge itself against the ruling class. By laughing. Not by throwing a bomb or injuring someone.
"This regime does not accept humor as a form of peaceful expression; it has made the monumental mistake of believering that two joyful, satirical publications are actually an opposition political party . . . a party of laughter and progress. A popular party that will undermine their position.
" . . There it is! I cannot go any farther because my body is calling me to account. The state of my body is no joke. It is telling me that I cannot make a long physical effort. . .
". . . As long as I am conscious, I will prevent the regime from turning me into an example in order to crush the Moroccan press. I will continue to laugh at those who have sent me to jail because they think that I am a political party. [from Le Monde]"
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