Moroccan investigative journalist convicted of adultery, sentenced 10 months in prison

The head of a Moroccan press freedom association says a court has convicted an investigative journalist of adultery and sentenced to 10 months in prison in an attempt to intimidate him.

Maati Monjib of the Freedom Now organization said Tuesday that Hicham Manouri was convicted of adultery and of charges related to housing prostitution. He was fined 4,000 euros ($4,340).

Police burst into Mansouri's apartment on March 17, beat him and arrested him while he was with a divorced woman.

Mansouri was with the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism and had been working on a piece about electronic surveillance by the state when he was arrested, said Monjib.

Morocco prides itself on its press freedom, but groups like Freedom Now maintain there is systematic repression of those holding dissident views.