Fouad Mourtada was arrested in Casablanca for "villainous practices", for creating a facebook profile for Prince Moulay Rachid, the younger brother of the Moroccan King. Needless to say, this is the first such case anywhere. It must be devastating for something as simple and innocent as creating a fake Facebook profile. His family, interviewed on BBC Arabic, say that Fouad created the profile to impress the opposite sex, and has not sent or received any messages on the account. Fouad is currently awaiting trial, and he could be facing anywhere between eight months or five years in jail: for a fake facebook profile!
The Moroccan government exercises heavy censorship on the media, specially when it comes to news about the royal family, but they've generally adopted a handsoff approach to bloggers and social networks; this latest incident signals a change.
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