Kind of a weird story coming out from Morocco ... but bear with me ...
According to news reports, an 18-year old Moroccan schoolboy was jailed for insulting the country's king after replacing the monarch's name with that of his favorite football club FC Barcelona.
He altered the phrase "God, The Nation, The King" on the school blackboard to read "God, The Nation, Barcelona".
FC Barcelona says it has appointed a lawyer to look into whether they can help the boy, within the framework of Moroccan law.
The BBC's James Copnall in Rabat says it is not completely clear whether the court felt the remarks about the football club or other apparent insults to the king were the problem.
The Moroccan justice ministry has not commented on the case.
The family of the boy, Yassine Belassal, is appealing against the ruling, and his father told local news papers he was preparing to write a letter to King Mohamed VI asking for a royal pardon.
An internet campaign is also under way to have Mr Belassel freed.
Earlier this year one man received a three-year sentence for creating a mock Facebook profile of the King's brother, before receiving a royal pardon.
Last month, another man was jailed after suggesting that some royal practices did not help the development of the country.
He was cleared on appeal following a media outcry.MY POV: I'm definitely not a Barcelona fan, but I doubt I'd ask for jail time for any of the club's supporters ... well, on second thought ...
Tough case and I'm unsure about what this says of Morocco's legal and free speech system ... maybe, that it's null and void? Let's see how this plays out.
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