Moroccan in custody for Facebook spoof

by Amy Judd | February 22, 2008 at 12:15 pm

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A Moroccan man was ordered to be in court today over a false facebook page he uploaded on the net. He claimed to not understand what he was posting, but there could be some serious consequences for him. There have been warnings for a while now about being careful what you put on the internet for all to see, but this man may go to jail for his mistakes.

Fouad Mourtada, 26, was arrested on 5 February on suspicion of stealing the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid, younger brother of King Mohammed VI.

He has been in custody ever since his arrest in Casablanca.

A website supporting Mr Mourtada has published a letter addressed to the prince apologising for the incident.

The letter, which is said to come from Mr Mourtada's family, asks for clemency.

"Fouad Mourtada, like thousands of people who create fake profiles of well-known personalities or celebrities on Facebook, has in no way acted in a willingness to cause nuisance to Your Highness, for whom he has always shown the greatest of respect," the letter on the Help Fouad website reads.

He is accused of "villainous practices linked to the alleged theft of the [prince's] identity".

Earlier this week some Moroccan bloggers went "on strike", suspending their regular blog entries for 24 hours in protest at Mr Mourtada's detention.

Mr Mourtada's court appearance was initially set for 15 February, but was postponed for a week.

According to the website, he told family members who visited him in jail that he had been blindfolded and beaten unconscious at the time of his arrest.