Lakome.com
Lakome.com was an independent Moroccan news website. It was started in 2010 and banned in 2013.
Type of site | News website |
---|---|
Available in | Arabic, French |
Founded | 2010 |
Dissolved | 2013 |
Successor(s) | lakome2 |
Headquarters | Casablanca, |
Country of origin | Morocco |
Created by | Ali Anouzla Aboubakr Jamaï |
URL | lakome |
Launched | 22 September 2010 [1] |
Current status | Inactive and banned in Morocco |
Content license | All rights reserved |
Written in | Joomla! |
History and profile
Lakome.com was founded in December 2010 by Ali Anouzla later joined by Aboubakr Jamaï. The site had articles in Arabic and in French.[2] Ali Anouzla was also the editor of the English edition of the website.[3] Aboubakr Jamaï was the editor of the French edition.[3]
A laureate of the Committee to Protect Journalists' International Press Freedom Award[4] and the World Association of Newspapers' Gebran Tueni Prize,[2] Jamaï had previously started two newspapers in Morocco, Le Journal Hebdomadaire and Assahifa al-Ousbouiya. His papers were banned by the government of Morocco on multiple occasions for their explorations of politically taboo topics, and Jamaï soon won an international reputation for independent reporting.[4][5] 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.[6]
When the Arab Spring-inspired 2011 protests 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.[7]
On 17 October 2013, both the Arabic and French version of the site were closed down in Morocco.
The site is now redirected to porn web site.[3] As of May 2014, the website was blocked.[8]
References
- lakome.com whois lookup
- Andrew Heslop (7 July 2011). "The irresolvable dilemma of the newspaper publisher". World Association of Newspapers. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- "Lakome news website still blocked despite editor's repeated requests". Reporters without Borders. 20 February 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
- "Morocco: Aboubakr Jamai". Committee to Protect Journalists. 2003. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- Jane Kramer (16 October 2006). "The Crusader". The New Yorker. Retrieved 2 February 2012.
- "Morocco: Pioneer of independent press silenced amid censorship worries". Los Angeles Times. 16 February 2010. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- Aida Alami (28 April 2011). "Web Offers a Voice to Journalists in Morocco". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 February 2012.
- "Morocco: Human Rights Organizations Call for the Charges against Journalist "Ali Anouzla" to be Dropped, and "Lakome" Website to be Unblocked". All Africa. 19 May 2014. Retrieved 3 October 2014.
External links
- Official site (Arabic)