Royal Facebook usurper freed in Morocco

By JAMEY KEATEN

Associated Press Writer

Fouad Mourtada, 26, told The Associated Press that he was "fine" after the monarch granted him a pardon that led to his release Tuesday from a prison in Sale, Morocco. He thanked supporters who campaigned for his release.

Mourtada was sentenced last month to three years in prison for "usurping" the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid by creating a profile of him on the popular networking site. He was arrested early last month.

"I have nothing against the prince. In fact, my act was done because of my admiration for him," Mourtada told the AP by phone. "I regret that it was badly interpreted."

The case sent ripples of concern through the blogosphere in Morocco, a North African kingdom that has been modernizing - in fits and starts - since Mohammed VI took power after his father King Hassan II died in 1999.

"There has to be free expression of ideas. Well, as long as the law is respected," Mourtada said. Under Moroccan law, insults and outrage against royals can lead to prosecution.

Mourtada's case drew the scrutiny of at least one major media freedom group abroad, and spurred an online campaign by supporters who had appealed to the prince for clemency.

"This is a great relief," French advocacy group Reporters Without Borders said in a statement. "Nonetheless, we regret that his release is the result of a royal pardon rather than a fair verdict and sentence."

"Moroccan bloggers will not be able to forget his imprisonment when they compose their blog entries," the group said.

A Moroccan Justice Ministry official said the pardon was one of 566 announced Wednesday by the king as part of a tradition of granting pardons on the birthday of the Prophet Mohammed.

The king never explains the reasons for pardons, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to be cited by name.

Mourtada suggested that he wanted to get back into cyberspace.

"I'm going to continue my life normally. I'm going to rest a bit, and think about my future," Mourtada said. "Above all, I am a computer engineer. It's my career - I like my field."

White working-class boys 'consigned to educational scrapheap by Labour and liberal establishment'

Comments

They said boys from low-income homes do significantly worse in exams than any other group of pupils but their plight is being "overlooked" by Labour and the liberal establishment.

Initiatives to tackle under-achievement often centre on improving the performance of ethnic minorities, said London-based member John Puckrin.

Fears of playing into the hands of the National Front and BNP are fuelling a widespread reluctance to speak up for the plight of the white working-classes, he claimed.

Scroll down for more...

White working-class boys do significantly worse in exams than any other group of pupils but their plight is being 'overlooked' by Labour (picture posed by models)

Figures showed recently that only 15 per cent of white boys qualifying for free school meals leave school having mastered the three Rs. For black boys from similar backgrounds, the figure is 22 per cent while for Asians it is 29 per cent and Chinese 52 per cent.

"All too often diversity is only thought of in terms of ethnicity or faith," Mr Puckrin told the conference.

"I believe we need to restate and recognise the diversity of class.

"The lowest attaining section in education today are white working-class boys; in some of our cities they are also the largest single ethnic minority.

"Why have the needs of this group been overlooked? I suspect it is the law of unexpected consequences.

"The Labour party has ceased to talk the language of class in order to win general elections.

"Liberal-minded people and the media ceased to highlight the particular problems of this group for fear of lending weight to the arguments of the National Front and BNP. This is a self-defeating position to my mind."

He said action plans had been put in place to tackle race and gender divides but "silence then ensued on class".

Mr Puckrin's proposal for a probe into the effects of white working-class underachievement on the economy in specific regions was backed by the union.

He also said schools should be given freedom to set lessons in subjects that could assist community cohesion, such as history.

He added: "It is historical fact that most of the jobs lost in communities destroyed by Britain's de-industralisation have involved male workers.

"It is easy to forget that we once had docks in London and Liverpool, shipyards in Belfast and Newcastle, coalmines in Nottingham and Kent, steelworkers in Sheffield and South Wales.

"Investment capital may have moved on to hedge funds, but the people remain."

Studies have previously identified parental indifference and family break-ups as reasons poor white boys have slipped behind other groups.

Mr Puckrin's claims underline research last year from Manchester University which found that money was being targeted at pupils with English as an additional language.

"White learners from highly disadvantaged backgrounds were reportedly often overlooked," their report said

ADVERTISEMENT

Iconocast is about learning and teaching without borders; we offer eMarketing, Internet Advertising, Internet Marketing, Search Engine Optimization, Search Engine Marketing, Online Branding, and eMarketing News Services.

Iconocast Home Page

Contact Iconocast

Iconocast Health Articles

© 2003-07. ICONOCAST is a trademark of iconocast.com.