The 22 years old Moroccan Blogger Mohamed Erraji was arrested on the 5th of September over an article he wrote entitled “The King Encourages His Subject’s Dependency” that criticizes the king’s charity that goes for people upon hearing compliments and praise instead of being given to places where it is needed like charity and development organizations.
The English translation of his article you can find here

on Monday and through one of the most expedited trails, Mohamed was sentenced to 2 years imprison plus 5000 MAD fine for “failure to uphold the respect due to the king.”
On September the 11th, he was released on bail pending his trial next Tuesday September 16th.
During the last few years, the Moroccan government had blocked YouTube and Google Earth, the arrest of Fuad Mourtada over his Facebook activities, and now with sentencing Blogger Raji to two years in prison, the government is sending clear message to all Moroccans that freedom of speech can’t be reached not even through cyber spaces.
What the judge who made that sentence missed, beside the implementing of the law itself, and the human rights, he missed the fact that such arrest will only spread out inside Morocco and outside to the international society and such act will enforce the name of Morocco as a country where Human Rights are constantly violated.

For more information about this cause and sign the petition, press here

Over than 200 victims of what so called “honor killings” were reported in Syria last year according to The Syrian Women Observatory, and the number is way bigger than this but because of the social acceptance and the encouraging law itself, tens or more of other cases are not even reported as Many women are killed and buried in unmarked graves; their very existence is removed from community and records.

Women are killed for Suspicion of any contact with men, any male member of the family are justified to torture her and kill her on the name of family honor!

After they kill her by cutting of heads, burning, burring her alive, or in the most merciful case, by shooting in the head… the killer go down the street announcing by proud that he got the family honor back! “washed his shame!”

Only The tribal mentality is the main driving force that makes this phenomenon spin out of control, Male-dominated culture, and the traditional theory of the man’s right to control the life of the woman whether she was his daughter, wife, sister, and even a far relative!
In these societies, the women’s virginity represent the honor of the family and the male members of the family are responsible of holding that “honor” and control the life of women as women are seen less intelligent and must be controlled.
Governments justify this criminal action by easing the sentence and are pardoned by the law. Whether in many cases men kill their wives to get rid of them, or fathers trying to hide their rape of their own daughter and try to get a way with it claiming that they killed for honor.

No need to say more, honor crimes are crimes with no honor and any crime should not be justified under any reason.
according to Article 548 of the Syrian Legal Code:
“. He who catches his wife, or one of his ascendents, descendents or sister committing adultery (flagrante delicto) or illegitimate sex acts with another and he kills or injures one of both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty.

2. He who catches his wife, or one of his ascendents, descendents or sister in a suspicious state (attitude equivoce) with another and he kills or injures one of both of them benefits from an exemption of penalty.”And so the murderer never serve more than few months in jail!!!

these kind of barbaric violence against human rights can only end if it was handled on different levels, social, religious, and most importantly on the legal level, this article must be reformed in a way that enforce punishment to these crimes as any other crimes in which is crime is never justified.

Many campaigns have been risen in Syria that work for stopping honor killing and changing the law, the most active one is the NESASY’s campaign that started a petition addressed to the president of the Syrian Arab Republic asking in changing the justification law.

For more information about the campaign visit :
http://nesasy.org/
and for the latest news of honor killings in Syria visit:
http://www.stophonourkillings.com/?name=News&file=article&sid=3003