Khalid Naciri is the spokesperson of the Moroccan government and minister of Information. He has come under the spotlight in recent months, having conducted most of the PR work every time his government had to justify the closure of an independent newspaper, the jailing of a journalist or a blogger, constantly referring to the preeminence of the Moroccan law which makes, for example, the king sacred and above criticism. But apparently Naciri now considers himself and his family sacred and above the law as well.
The following video was posted on Youtube, and it shows the minister coming to the rescue of his son, who was arrested by the police then fleeing the scene under the protest of witnesses and passersby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lom_D3rivrY&feature=player_embedded
The incident happened ironically in front of the Moroccan parliament. According to the Moroccan daily Almassae the story happened last Friday night when two men driving along the Avenue Mohammed V in Rabat stopped their cars in front of the Parliament and started a fight. When the police intervened, they had to handcuff and attach the minister's son to the the parliament's iron fence. Both offenders were to be conducted in front of a judge when the minister showed up and ranted for his son to be released. The police officer who first resisted the minister's call eventually complied while witnesses were watching in disbelief.
This isn't the first incident of its kind. Morocco suffers from an endemic problem of bad governance because the country, despite its apparent openness and aspects of modernity, is governed by a decaying feudal system of governance where those close to power feel entitled to certain rights that ordinary citizens don't enjoy.
BIO
Hi! My name is Hisham Almiraat. I’m from Morocco. I’m a medical doctor by trade and occasional blogger.
I quit smoking after medical school. Now hooked on caffein and Twitter.
An ultra-naïve humanist, I deeply mistrust religion and power and I spend my time daydreaming of a secular, liberal democracy at home.
I'm passionate about freedom of expression and thought which I consider to be the most fundamental of our rights.
In pursuit of defending these rights I am and was involved with a couple of projects:
I'm the former advocacy director at Global Voices Online and co-founder of Mamfakinch.com and TalkMorocco.net -- award-wining platforms that advocate for and encourage freedom of expression.
I am the recent founder of the Moroccan Association for Digital Rights.
I try photography from time to time and do some graphic design and artwork, though I still have a lot to learn in that department... and in everything else for that matter.
You can email me at hisham [at] riseup [dot] net
.. or, if you feel like it, follow me here.
.. or, if you feel like it, follow me here.