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The Makhzen Regime Continues Its Policy of Repression and Silencing Voices: Journalist Ali Lmrabet Arrested Upon Returning to Morocco from Spain

Moroccan authorities arrested journalist Ali Lmrabet, one of the country’s most prominent independent journalists, on Sunday evening immediately after he arrived at Tangier Ibn Battuta International Airport on a direct flight from Barcelona, where he has lived for many years. He landed at around 3:00 p.m. local time.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), Lmrabet is accused of allegedly spreading false information that undermines Morocco’s constitutional institutions. The organization said he was being transferred to Casablanca for questioning by the National Judicial Police Brigade before appearing before the public prosecutor on Monday. His wife said he had not visited Morocco for years and had returned only after the death of his father, who had been living there.

Meanwhile, security sources offered a different account. Speaking to the Moroccan news outlet Le360, they claimed the arrest followed complaints filed by institutions and individuals accusing Lmrabet of defamation through his online posts and videos. They said he would be questioned under the supervision of the public prosecutor. As of the time of writing, no official statement had been issued by the prosecutor’s office detailing the charges or legal procedures.

The arrest triggered immediate condemnation from civil society organizations. Maati Monjib, coordinator of the Freedom Now organization, described the move as an extremely dangerous escalation and a direct attack on Lmrabet’s fundamental right to freedom of expression and his independent journalistic work exposing corruption and abuses of power. People close to Lmrabet also expressed serious concern about his health, warning that prolonged detention without appropriate medical care could endanger his life.

Lmrabet’s history with the Moroccan authorities is not new. The founder of the magazine Demain and former editorin chief of Le Journal was imprisoned in 2003 on charges including insulting the King and threatening territorial integrity. During his imprisonment, he went on a prolonged hunger strike, losing 22 kilograms before receiving a royal pardon. He was later banned from practicing journalism for 10 years, prompting him to move to Spain, where he continued his work through digital platforms and collaborations with Spanish, French, and British newspapers.

Lmrabet’s return to his homeland after years of exile, intending to honor the memory of his late father, ended within hours with his arrest and appearance before judicial authorities, once again raising questions about press freedom in Morocco and the limits of the authorities’ tolerance toward independent voices.

Victory Written in the Blood of a Million and a Half Martyrs

On July 5, 1962, Algeria did not simply reclaim its sovereignty it handed one of the twentieth century’s most powerful colonial empires a defeat from which it never fully recovered. Seven and a half years of armed struggle, lit by a single spark on November 1, 1954, was enough to bury the colonial fiction of “French Algeria” for good.

This is not rhetoric. It is record. France committed its full military and political weight to keeping Algeria in chains and lost, broken by the unbending will of a people who paid for their freedom with more than a million and a half martyrs. That number is not a statistic; it is the measure of what this war actually was: not a colonial skirmish but an existential confrontation between a nation that refused to disappear and an empire that refused to accept its own death.

From Battlefield to “Mecca of Revolutionaries”

Independence did not close Algeria’s account with the world it opened a new one. Algiers became a global command center for liberation movements, arming and sheltering resistance fighters from Tunisia to Morocco and opening its doors to revolutionaries from Africa, Latin America, and Asia. The title “Mecca of Revolutionaries” was not handed to Algeria it was earned, forged in an uncompromising doctrine: no neutrality on liberation, no bargaining over a people’s right to self-determination

That doctrine is not history. It is policy. It is the same principle driving Algeria’s positions today on Western Sahara and Palestine. Algeria’s diplomatic posture was not invented in a briefing room it was inherited, intact, from July 5, 1962.

A Legacy That Demands Defense, Not Nostalgia

Independence was never a finish line it was the first chapter of a permanent obligation to defend sovereignty against every test that followed, from the Sand War to the diplomatic confrontations of the present. July 5 is not a date to be filed away in a museum. It is a standing mandate: every generation that inherits this freedom inherits the duty to defend it with the same resolve that won it.

Algeria did not just win its independence. It rewrote what independence means for every colonized nation that came afte

In a scene reflecting the vitality of the country’s political life, Algerians headed to the polls today, Thursday, July 2, 2026, to elect their representatives to the People’s National Assembly, in legislative elections considered a pivotal milestone in strengthening institutions and renewing the political elite.

Since the early hours of the opening of polling stations, several provinces have witnessed notable activity and an increasing turnout of voters, particularly among young people, reflecting a growing awareness of the importance of political participation, citizenship, and contributing to decision-making.

This national event has also been marked by the broad participation of senior state officials and government members. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune cast his vote, alongside Prime Minister Sifi Ghrieb, Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs Ahmed Attaf, and Minister of the Interior, Local Authorities and Urban Planning Saïd Sayoud, as well as several ministers and officials who were keen to participate. Their involvement conveyed a clear message: participation in elections is not merely a constitutional right, but a national responsibility that contributes to building strong institutions with popular legitimacy.

The 2026 legislative elections carry significant political and developmental stakes, as they take place within the framework of continuing reforms, strengthening institutional performance, and opening the way for new talents and elites to participate in shaping public policies and responding to citizens’ aspirations.

Amid anticipation and hopes surrounding the outcome of this electoral process, the key message of the 2026 legislative elections remains that Algeria continues to consolidate its democratic path and that the voice of the citizen remains the cornerstone of building the nation’s future. Beyond numbers and turnout rates, these elections represent a national moment in which Algerians renew their bond with state institutions and reaffirm their belief that conscious participation is the path toward a stronger, more stable Algeria, better equipped to face challenges and build a future worthy of its people’s aspirations.