Senior press union figure resigns, citing 'legal chaos' and governance breaches

Younes Moujahid, head of Morocco’s temporary committee overseeing the press and publishing sector and a senior figure in the National Union of the Moroccan Press (SNPM), announced his withdrawal from the union, denouncing what he described as “legal and ethical violations” and “a collapse of internal governance.”

In a statement, Moujahid said the SNPM’s Federal National Council froze his membership during its Nov. 1 meeting “without explanation,” despite his prior notice to the council’s president, Othman Najjari, that he would boycott the session due to procedural irregularities.

He said the boycott stemmed from the “clear violation” of the union’s statutes, which require the Federal National Council to convene every six months, though “it now meets only once a year.” He also criticized the late distribution of the meeting agenda, sent three days before the session instead of the required ten.

Moujahid further noted that two key committees, ethics and financial oversight, had not been established halfway through the current mandate, calling it evidence of “a lack of transparency and disregard for internal accountability.”

“The laws are not decorative,” he said. “They are what give legitimacy to decisions. Violating them strips those decisions of any legal or moral value.”

Moujahid argued that his suspension was itself invalid, claiming that under the union’s bylaws, such measures must come from the executive bureau or local branch after notifying the concerned member and allowing a defense.

He said his main dispute with the union’s current president centers on “the failure to respect the law,” despite an ethical agreement made before the latter’s election to form a governance and financial oversight committee, a commitment Moujahid says was ignored.

Moujahid accused the leadership of “appointing tailor-made committees” outside the approved agenda, except for the ethics committee chaired by veteran journalist Abdellah Bekkali, who was elected at the last national congress.

“It no longer honors me to belong to a union that has become a space for legal chaos,” Moujahid said. “Remaining silent would make me complicit in eroding the credibility of an organization built by generations of principled journalists.”

He lamented that the SNPM, once a respected national and international institution, is now “on the brink,” despite having achieved major milestones, including the establishment of regional branches, collective labor agreements, wage improvements, and strong advocacy for press freedom.

Moujahid also criticized the union’s leadership for “individual decision-making,” delaying executive meetings, and seeking foreign involvement in domestic professional matters. He accused the current president of “forging alliances with non-representative actors” instead of working with publishers to improve journalists’ salaries.

Regarding the National Press Council elections, Moujahid recalled that under previous leadership, the SNPM formed a transparent committee of five national figures to vet candidates and build an open list. “Today,” he said, “the president advocates for a closed list shaped by his own discretion, a blatant breach of law and democratic custom.”

Moujahid concluded by saying he chose not to take legal action “to avoid deepening the wounds within the union,” but declared his full organizational withdrawal: “I leave the National Union of the Moroccan Press with pain but without regret,  not denying its history, but refusing to watch that history dragged through the mud.”