The administrative court in Rabat issued a final decision on Thursday, May 22, 2025, rejecting the request made by Hamid Mehdawi to contest the interim committee’s decision to deny the renewal of his professional press card for the year 2025.
According to the information presented to the court, the interim committee’s arguments were primarily based on the provisions of the laws forming the press and publication code and the specific regulations governing access to the journalism profession.
The key point raised by the interim committee in its arguments was that Hamid Mehdawi did not provide evidence that his primary income derives from practicing journalism, as stipulated in Article 1 of Law No. 89.13 concerning the status of professional journalists. Additionally, the income of his company, which owns his online newspaper, depends mainly on revenues from the YouTube platform rather than on journalistic work as per the existing legislation.
This decision from the administrative court in Rabat serves as an important reference for distinguishing between journalistic work and publishing on YouTube, as any citizen can speak on YouTube and claim to be practicing journalism, a profession that has its own rules, fundamentals, ethics, and legal and economic framework.
Following the issuance of the court’s decision, Hamid Mehdawi is classified within the category of individuals impersonating journalists, as a professional journalist is defined as one who holds a professional press card according to the legal framework governing the work of professional journalists.
