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Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Morocco paper renamed after royal cartoon closure

Akhbar Al Youm will start publication again on Monday under name Akhbar Al Youm Al Maghrabia.

CASABLANCA - A Moroccan newspaper closed by the authorities after publishing a cartoon deemed offensive to the royal family is to reopen under a different name next week, its director said Tuesday.

The daily Akhbar Al Youm, which was shut down after publishing a cartoon related to a royal wedding in September, will start publication again on Monday under the name Akhbar Al Youm Al Maghrabia, said director Taoufik Bouachrine.

"The first issue of this new daily newspaper will come out on Monday, with the hope of turning the page on the distressing past of its predecessor," he said.

At the end of October, Bouachrine and the paper's cartoonist Khalid Gueddar were each handed a four-year suspended sentence following two separate trials over the cartoon.

They were also ordered to pay more than three million dirhams (around 263,000 euros, 396,000 dollars).

A court ordered the "definitive closure" of the paper and its premises were locked to prevent journalists from getting in.

Authorities decided to take action against the Akhbar Al Youm over a cartoon in its September 26-27 edition depicting the royal family celebrating the marriage of Prince Moulay Ismail, a cousin of King Mohammed VI.

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