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Morocco court doubles activist’s prison sentence

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — A lawyer says a Moroccan court has doubled the prison sentence of an activist who was convicted of falsely claiming she was tortured.

Activist Ouafa Charaf had said she was attacked by police for her political activities, but she was convicted of making false claims in August and sentenced to one year in prison.

Charaf appealed her conviction, and on Tuesday a court upheld it and doubled her sentence to two years, according to her defense lawyer, Mohammed Sadkou. He called the ruling revenge against her.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights claims that a new campaign of repression against activists since the summer has led police to prevent scores of events it planned.

Morocco responded to demands of Arab Spring pro-democracy protesters in 2011 with a series of reforms.

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1 dead, 1 hurt in possible house explosion in Annapolis

One person is dead and one is hurt after what investigators are calling a possible house explosion in Annapolis, Maryland, Wednesday afternoon. Fire crews arrived in the 1100 block of Green Holly Drive shortly after 12:20 p.m. after 911 calls poured in from neighbors, fire officials said. They found what they believed had been a two-story structure, with the second floor collapsed onto the first floor. "There was no fire present, just significant damage, including a debris field that extends about a half a block up the street," Assistant Anne Arundel County Fire Chief Larry Schultz said at a news conference.
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