Moroccan Media Watchdog Upholds Creative Freedom in Controversial Ramadan TV Series

In a statement, the High Authority for Audiovisual Communication (HACA) indicates that the CSCA has studied all the complaints that were sent to it before making its decision. The council stipulates that the freedom of artistic creation as guaranteed by the Constitution is an integral part of the freedom of audiovisual communication enshrined in Law No. 77.03 relating to audiovisual communication and in Law No. 11.15 relating to the reorganization of the High Authority. The body affirms that this right to freedom "must be guaranteed in particular when it comes to works of fiction".

"The fictional work cannot be accomplished or claim artistic value without effective freedom at all levels of the conception of the work, namely the script, the situations, the scenes, the profiles of the characters, the dialogues...", thus defends the CSCA, explaining that this imperative of freedom is even more obvious when it comes to comedic or parodic works.

Taking the example of the case mentioned by the lawyers, the Council explains that the critical representation of a profession in an audiovisual work of fiction "does not constitute defamation as it is legally defined, nor does it necessarily include an intention to offend or harm". Moreover, the body believes that wanting fiction to only represent positive, honest and upright characters would amount to infringing on the freedom of authors and operators.

It should be recalled that by seizing the HACA, the lawyers’ club had hoped for the suspension of the broadcast of these series. Abdellatif Chentouf, the president of the club, had stressed that these series must raise certain issues and propose solutions in an artistic way, without seeking to convey a negative image.