Rabat, Morocco - A Moroccan appeals court Thursday let stand a ruling that would require the nation's largest newspaper and its publisher to pay record amounts of damages in a defamation case. The ruling requires the al-Massae newspaper and its chief editor, Rashid Ninny, to pay damages of up to 6 million dirham (more than 700,000 dollars) to a group of four district attorneys. It is the largest damages ruling in Morocco's media history.
At issue is a report that appeared in November 2007 about a gay festival in Ksar el-Kebir, in northern Morocco. The report alleged that a local state's attorney, who remained unnamed in the article, was in attendance.
The four local state's attorneys filed charges of defamation. Morocco's media unleashed a wave of protest when they won their initial ruling in March. Reporters Without Borders has questioned whether the newspa
