The International Publishers Association is speaking out after authorities in Morocco banned the Spanish-language daily newspaper El País from distributing its February 26 issue because of an excerpt it featured from the French book The Predator King. The book, written by Catherine Graciet and Eric Laurent, offers a critical look at the King of Morocco, and is being published in France today by the French house Le Seuil.
The IPA is calling the cancelation of the paper in Morocco an act of censorship and Olivier Bétourné, chairman of Le Seuil and also a member of IPA, said the country also needs to allow its citizens access to the book itself. "By prohibiting the issue of the El Pais daily, which included excerpts of The Predator King, the Moroccan authorities go against the wind of freedom which is currently blowing in the MENA region. Not only does IPA condemn the censorship of the Spanish daily, it also urges Morocco to authorize the distribution in Morocco of The Predator King."
