Morocco jails cartoonist over king caricatures, lawyer says

A Moroccan court sentenced 22-year-old cartoonist Yasser Mounbir to four years in prison over caricatures of King Mohammed VI, his lawyer Farouk Mehdaoui said Sunday.

Mehdaoui said Mounbir was convicted of “insulting the king” and “insulting public officials”. He said the court also fined him 40,000 dirhams, about $4,000, and that the defence team will file an appeal.

Mounbir was arrested in June after posting caricatures of the monarch on Instagram. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights had called for his release.

Article 179 of Morocco's Penal Code forbids defamation, insult or infringement of the king's private life and provides for prison sentences of six months to two years. The sentence can be doubled when the offence is committed electronically.

Rights advocates in Morocco have called for an end to laws they say stifle freedom of speech and for pardons for people sentenced over social media posts.