Lakome.com was an independent Moroccan news website. It was started in 2010 and banned in 2013.

History and profile

Lakome.com was founded in December 2010 by

Ali Anouzla Ali Anouzla (; born in Agadir, Morocco) is a Moroccan journalist, known for his critical articles of King Mohammed VI's rule. Since December 2010 he has been the editor-in-chief of the online media platform Lakome, which he co-founded along wit ...

, later joined by

Aboubakr Jamaï Aboubakr Jamaï (; born 1968 in Rabat, Morocco) is a Moroccan journalist and banker, and was the publisher of the newspapers '' Le Journal Hebdomadaire'' and '' Assahifa al-Ousbouiya''. In 2003, he was awarded the International Press Freedom Aw ...

. The site had articles in

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

and in

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

. Ali Anouzla was also the editor of the English edition of the website. Aboubakr Jamaï was the editor of the French edition. A laureate of the

Committee to Protect Journalists The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in New York City, with correspondents around the world. CPJ promotes press freedom and defends the rights of journalists. The '' American Journalism ...

' International Press Freedom Award and the

World Association of Newspapers The World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers (WAN-IFRA) is a non-profit, non-governmental organization made up of 76 national newspaper associations, 12 news agencies, 10 regional press organisations, and many individual newspaper e ...

' Gebran Tueni Prize, Jamaï had previously started two newspapers in Morocco, ''

Le Journal Hebdomadaire ''Le Journal Hebdomadaire'' (French for ''The Weekly Journal''; often shortened to ''Le Journal Hebdo'') was a French-language, Moroccan weekly magazine, published between 1997 and 2010.Sylvain MouillardAu Maroc, le «Journal hebdomadaire» jett ...

'' and '' Assahifa al-Ousbouiya''. His papers were banned by the

government of Morocco The Cabinet of Morocco is the chief executive body of the Kingdom of Morocco. The Cabinet is composed of some 24 ministers including 5 "Minister Delegates". It is headed by the Prime Minister since August 2011, who is appointed by the King of Moro ...

on multiple occasions for their explorations of politically taboo topics, and Jamaï soon won an international reputation for independent reporting. After a series of ruinous libel suits and alleged government pressure on advertisers, however, the papers went bankrupt, with ''Le Journal'' shut down by court order in 2010. When the

Arab Spring The Arab Spring () was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings, and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began Tunisian revolution, in Tunisia ...

-inspired

2011 protests Eleven or 11 may refer to: *11 (number) * One of the years 11 BC, AD 11, 1911, 2011 Literature * ''Eleven'' (novel), a 2006 novel by British author David Llewellyn *''Eleven'', a 1970 collection of short stories by Patricia Highsmith *''Eleven'' ...

broke out in Morocco, however, Jamaï began an web-based news service, Lakome.com. The site had a small staff and focuses on reporting political events throughout Morocco. By April 2011, it was the fourth-most-visited website in Morocco. On 17 October 2013, both the Arabic and French version of the site were closed down in Morocco. As of May 2014, the website remained blocked.

References

External links

Official site
(Arabic) {{Human rights in Morocco 2010 establishments in Morocco 2013 disestablishments in Morocco Defunct websites Moroccan news websites Internet properties established in 2010 Internet properties disestablished in 2013 Arabic-language websites French-language websites Censorship in Morocco