A computer engineer appeared in a Moroccan court today charged with setting up a Facebook account in the name of Moroccan King Mohammed's brother.
Fouad Mortada, 26, could face jail on the charges of falsifying computer data and imitating Prince Moulay Rachid on the social networking site without his consent.
Relatives said Mr Mortada was motivated by admiration for the 37-year-old prince, who is second in line to the throne.
Mr Mortada said he was blindfolded and taken to an unknown building where he was beaten, spat on and insulted, according to a website set up by his supporters (www.helpfouad.com).
‘This is a nightmare,’ Mr Mortada's uncle Mohamed El Yousfi said. "Fouad is threatened, as well as his job and his family. He had no evil intent to damage the royal family, which he respects. He has done nothing wrong.’
Mr Mortada’s lawyer said police looked for a link between Mr Mortada and terrorist groups seeking to harm the royal family, but found nothing.
A source close to the security services said they denied torturing Mr Mortada, instead saying he was very cooperative.
Mr Mortada’s brother argued that ‘if his intentions were bad, why would he use his own computer to set up the account knowing full well that someone could trace him back to his IP address?’
He said thousands of people had set up accounts on Facebook and other sites under the name of famous people they admired.
Mr Mortada’s trial is due to resume on 22 February.
