Yet ANOTHER Reason to Hate Facebook

Oh okay, this isn’t REALLY about Facebook so much as it is about relative freedoms. It seems that in Morocco, you can get into big trouble pretending to be a member of the royal family. It just so happens that Moroccan computer engineer Fouad Mortada did his pretending on Facebook, and earned himself three years in prison for his efforts.

He said he was arrested on February 5, blindfolded and taken to an unknown building where he was beaten and insulted, according to a Web site set up by his supporters. ( Reuters Published: February 23, 2008, 8:40 AM PST)

The arrest occurred after Fouad Mortada set up a Facebook account in the name of Prince Moulay Rachid. The excuse for such an (to me) extreme reaction was the possibility that Martada was terrorist-connected and seeking to harm the Prince.

A quick look at Facebook revealed that there is more than one profile in the prince’s name. Who know if any of them are the real thing? Do YOU know how to tell?

Now, it’s odd – I thought I’d never been to Facebook before – but, according to them, I had an account (no page – just an access account) so perhaps it was a whim of some kind I don’t recall. If not, that’s SCARY. But – it’s not unthinkable I had a whim of some kind at some point.

Here is one part that bothers me: I said I was a student – they insisted I had to use my student e-mail. Hmmmm – why do they CARE? Well – perhaps it’s a networking thing, since in the process of resetting my password – (since I didn’t recall haing an account I CERTAINLY didn’t recall a password!) I discovered that I had missed yet another live performance of The Vagina Monologues siiiiiiiiiiiiigh.

If the plight of Fouad Mortada tugs at your heart – you can sign a petition at his support website. You can also find a well written blog post from a Moroccan point of view here, and a statement by Mortada himself here.

With luck – your e-signature may even matter. I mean, REALLY folks – they know this guy’s no terrorist! A little over $1,300 and three years in jail – even a Moroccan jail – isn’t the stuff punishments for terrorism are made of. It’s a bit over the top for what is, at most, a tacky prank – don’t you think? Okay, okay, from an Islamic point of view it’s blasphemy. But isn’t blasphemy in the eye of the beholder?

Gee – I wonder how much trouble the Moroccan government had getting traces of the fake Facebook page erased?

UPDATE:   ***Fouad was released by a royal pardon, on the evening of March 18, 2008**