Moroccan convicted of stealing royal prince's identity for Facebook profile
2008-02-24
In Morocco's first internet-related trial, a young engineer was convicted last week of posing as a royal prince while reportedly trying to meet women. Many Moroccan and foreign internet users leaped to the man's defence, calling the three-year prison sentence too severe.
By Sarah Touahri for Magharebia in Rabat – 24/02/08
 [Getty Images] Online networking community Facebook was the subject of a recent trial in Morocco in which 26-year-old Fouad Mourtada was sentenced to three years in prison for impersonating Prince Moulay Rachid. |
A young engineer who masqueraded as Prince Moulay Rachid by creating a profile on the social networking website Facebook was sentenced to three years' imprisonment and fined 10,000 dirhams by a Casablanca court on Friday (February 22nd).
Fouad Mourtada was arrested on February 5th for assuming a false identity and committing Internet piracy. According to the bill of indictment and the police report, Mourtada did not use the Facebook profile to send any messages or commit fraudulent activities. The 26-year-old IT worker, who graduated from the Mohammedia School of Engineering in 2005, seems instead to have been motivated by a desire to attract young women, officials said.
Investigators found no evidence that Mourtada was linked to a terrorist group plotting to harm the royal family, according to his defence attorney Ali Amar. "My client did not commit any acts of fraud against anyone. This is the first time that a Moroccan has posed as an important public figure on an internet website, while in Europe and the United States this is a common practice", he contended.
Amar vowed at the end of the trial to lodge an appeal.
While some observers say Mourtada should not have interfered with the lives of the royal family even in this "virtual" way, a large number of Moroccan and foreign internet users have leaped to the defence of the young engineer.
Clotilde Le Coz, head of the Internet and Freedom section of Reporters Without Borders, expressed her astonishment at the disproportionate reaction of Moroccan authorities. "The Moroccan blogosphere is seen as being one of the most liberal in the Arab world. A case like this could change that image," she commented.
Medical student Nadia Zaatari said Moroccan investigators should not have been worried by the engineer’s actions, since false profile pages can easily be removed. "It’s clear that Fouad didn’t want to harm the image of the prince and the royal family. What’s more, there are numerous profiles of President Sarkozy of France and other political and arts figures on Facebook, but no one seems to care about those. He should be declared innocent. The sentence was too harsh," she argued.
This is the first Internet-related trial to take place in Morocco. Lawyer Mohamed Sellam told Magharebia that there is a large legal vacuum in this field. While the Penal Code contains a number of articles relating to the assumption of false identities, he said, none make any reference to the Internet.
The Press and Publications Code, however, lays down a prison term of between 3 and 5 years and a fine of 10,000-100,000 dirhams for "any offence to HM the King or royal princes or princesses." This article is supplemented by provisions of the Penal Code which call for up to 2 years in prison as well as a fine "for any offence caused to members of the royal family."
Email to a friend
Print version
Idrissi Posted 2008-02-24
How does an engineer specializing in information technology and, moreover, graduated from the Mohammedia Engineering School get his diploma if he does not know his rights in the Kingdom of Morocco with regards to his area of expertise? Furthermore, engineers of such expertise should make their own of a website with the domain in their name, either renting a space or hosting one, not creating something on immature Facebook. Our Nadia Zaatari said up above, "Moreover, there are different profiles on Facebook for French President, Sarkozy ..." But, Sarkozy has to deal with French laws, not Moroccan. Here, we have a kingdom; there are limits to be respected. Furthermore, you said here that "the motive was to attract young women." All of this is just childishness. For those whose families did not educate them, the law will take charge of them!
Karim Posted 2008-02-24
This is a sad day for Morocco. This is a sad day for Moroccan young men and women. This sad event will not make us proud. This is a sad day for the prince himself who's subject had been tortured. This is a sad day for M6 who claims that he is championing democracy in the Arab world.
esmehan Posted 2008-02-25
Salam alaikoum. It is a shame to exempt these princes and kings wherever they are from laws. I think that this is a deteriorated status reached by Morocco and other countries.
فتيحة احساية Posted 2008-02-25
I have no knowledge about libel laws in order to write my comment about the sentence against the person who stole the identity of the prince. But the defendant committed a serious mistake because he offended the prince. It is wrong if he offended any Moroccan citizen.
flower Posted 2008-02-25
They deserve better! The Royal Family is sacred! We are not in Europe or the USA!
BEN Posted 2008-02-25
No one is above the law. The legislative provisions of the constitution are clear and Prince Rachid is not to blame. However, the right to access their personal information — by the policing authorities, for example, or otherwise — should be in favour of the development of citizens's freedom. Anyone can find private information on Facebook that implicates them in commercial or thieving matters. The law must therefore procure him a means of self-protection. There is a legal black hole on this subject. Let us hope it will be addressed.
M6NIQUETOUT Posted 2008-02-25
[Expletive deleted], he had to be an informatics technician to create a profile on Facebook!? Now I have heard it all!
alrandour Posted 2008-02-26
I want to address those who pretend to understand freedom. Freedom brothers isn’t a breach of others and doesn’t bear that meaning. But unfortunately, the miserable Arabs haven’t yet understood the meaning of freedom and think that freedom is a body to breach the personal matters of others. This man who pretends to be an engineer should contribute to the good of the Arabic nation and not spend his time in matters which are of no good and even prejudicial to him. We Arabs contribute to distort the image of our societies which are conservative of their nice traditions and customs and we neglect them. We say that the West is an example for us which we should follow in every detail.
شهيد نجيب Posted 2008-02-27
The one who commits a crime deserves the punishment.
Fouad Posted 2008-02-27
You are really running off at the mouth!!! There are dozens of Sarkozys and hundreds of Bushes. Moreover, this unfortunate Fouad never intended to harm the image of His Highness. So, stop saying whatever you want, this is a country of freedom and the judges do not understand anything or, at the very least, very little with regards to technology.
simo hamed Posted 2008-02-28
I want to say to those who pretend that they understand freedom. Freedom brothers isn’t a breach of others and doesn’t bear that meaning. But unfortunately, the miserable Arabs haven’t yet understood the meaning of freedom and think that freedom is a breach of the personal matters of others. This man who pretends to be an engineer should contribute to the good of the Arabic nation and not spend his time in matters which are of no good and even prejudicial to him. We Arabs contribute to distort the image of our societies which are conservative of their nice traditions and customs and we neglect them. We say that the West is a model for us and that we should follow in everything.
maryam Posted 2008-03-01
My dear Fouad, you should have used your strong mind for the interest of the country which offered you conditions to be a good citizen…Why have you wasted your future for a rumour, where’s your intelligence…I hope that you will regret and repent because you don’t have the right to attack animals let alone human beings Fouad.
Noures Posted 2008-03-04
Certain freedoms have limits or else there is anarchy. Impersonating you are not is a crime in and of itself, but usurping someone else’s identity is even worse, not to mention someone who is a legal and lawful representative. He should have been banished for the very fact that he denied his own personality (for his underlying intentions.) I think the judge was very lenient toward him, given he wanted to harm not only the prince, but also, through him, the nation and everyone.
Abdelilah Boukili Posted 2008-03-06
It seems to me that Fouad Mourtada was brought to trial because he broke the rules of Facebook, which must surely have been used as evidence in his trial. Facebook’s term of use clearly states that for registration one shouldn’t “impersonate any person or entity, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent yourself, your age or your affiliation with any person or entity” https://register.facebook.com/terms.php . As an educated engineer, he should have taken care to read the terms of use carefully although the site is international and has no means for suing its users in case they break those rules. It seems, it is leaving this to the discretion of the judicial authorities and the parties concerned. On the second level, he seems to have gone too far by choosing to impersonate a Royal Prince. In Morocco, there are still red lines concerning how openly members of the royal family should be talked about in public, let alone be used for impersonification. All these facts can be used as hard proof to indict Fouad. His case got worldwide publicity. In Morocco, it has been the talk of local and national media. There were supports for him and criticism of the “harsh” sentence. Maybe he was used as an example for those daring to cross the red lines that are explicitly stated in the Moroccan Constitution, which talks about the sacredness of the King and by this all his family members: family members shouldn’t be used lightly. For Fouad, his case can be seen by some as stifling free speech, by others as an ignorance of Moroccan law which still prohibits dealing with the royals lightly. Maybe he can get pardon as now his lawyers have appealed his three-year sentence. In the coming days, the end or the continuity of this “saga” will be known.
asmae Posted 2008-03-13
We were proud to see the son of our town an engineer but you have disappointed us Fouad. So I hope that you regret what you did. Despite this we don’t hate you but we are sorry for you to claim your release and that you take a lesson from what happened. I hope that they will release you. Asma, long live Goulmima.
warda Posted 2008-03-17
Salam alaikoum, to the Moroccan citizen Fouad, this is a shame on you to touch someone who has a value and high rank, a beloved person inside and outside his country. To that level you disfigure the reputation of Moroccans in the world. You are a young man and you should have preserved your country and the dignity of your country. It you aren’t ashamed, do whatever you want. A citizen who loves her country.
marocain de paris Posted 2008-03-24
May God rest the soul of Hassan II and his era...You have a golden king and you're never happy...
zanniti inter Posted 2008-04-22
Zanniti 22/04/2008 Salam; I wish that there was no difference between prince Rachid and the reporter Rachid because we are all Moroccans, we have one nation and one religion so why there is no difference between the two names Rachid and Rachid. We also want to hold the flag of Morocco high. This goal can be achieved only by equality between the members of the nation.
We welcome your comments on Magharebia's articles.
It is our hope that you will use this forum to interact with other readers across the Maghreb. In order to keep this experience interesting, we ask you to follow the rules outlined in the comments policy. By submitting comments, you are consenting to these rules. While Magharebia.com encourages discussion on all subjects, including sensitive ones, the comments posted are solely the views of those submitting them. Magharebia.com does not necessarily endorse or agree with the ideas, views, or opinions voiced in these comments. This is a moderated forum. Comments deemed abusive, offensive, or those containing profanity may not be published.
Magharebia's Comments Policy