Al-Ertaoe urges coordination between judiciary and media

Mustafa Al-Ertaoe, king's deputy in Rumani, said that the current media varied dramatically as a result of the technological development, as the various audio, visual and electronic means as well as social networks such as Facebook and Twitter deal now with various community issues, notably the coverage of trials.
Al-Ertaoe said in an interview with Morocco Today, said that the media sometimes lacks neutrality, impartiality and professionalism, which raises controversy and depicts the suspects in an issue as guilty people.
Al-Ertaoe added that judges are human beings, and their feelings can be influenced by the media, referring to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, article 11, which stipulates that everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defense.
He also referred to the judicial systems which depend on jury, not the judge, such as the American system as the judicial authorities resort to isolate the jury from the media throughout the period of the case, explaining that the isolation here means blocking every media outlet including newspapers, magazines, radio, TV and others because they want to ensure that jury will not be affected by anything outside the data supplied in the case.
Al-Ertaoe said that the Moroccan Constitution in Article 109 recognized the impact of negative media on the judges in the recent period, "the law will punish anyone who tries to influence the judges." He explained that is necessary in light of the recent development to enhance coordination between the judiciary and media organizations, in order to maintain the rule of law and protect the rights of individuals.