Hamid Elmahdaouy

Hamid El Mahdaoui ( or ; born January 1, 1979), spelled also as Elmahdaouy is a Moroccan journalist and activist. Since 2014, he is the founder and the editor-in-chief of the online news website Badil.info (lit. Alternative.info). On July 20, 2017, El Mahdaoui was arrested in Al Hoceima, and later sentenced to three years in prison and a fine of 20.000 Dirhams for his activism in Hirak Rif.

Biography Hamid El Mahdaoui was born on January 1, 1979, in the Moroccan town of Khnichet, northeast of Rabat. He lived in several cities to study and work. After working in several local newspapers, he decided to found his own news website, Badil.info, in 2014.

In July 2017, he was sentenced to prison and a fine for "inciting for participation in a banned protest" and "breaking the law through speeches and shouting in public places" related to the Hirak Rif Movement.

In November 2024, El Mahdaoui was convicted by a Moroccan court of defamation, public insult, and dissemination of false allegations against Minister of Justice Abdellatif Ouahbi, following a series of videos published on his YouTube channel between February and December 2023. He was sentenced to eighteen months in prison and ordered to pay 1.5 million dirhams in damages. The Court of Apeapl in Rabat upheld the verdict in June 2025.

Press freedom organizations, including Reporters Without Borders (RSF), denounced the ruling as a misuse of the Penal Code to prosecute journalistic expression instead of applying the Press and Publications Law. In September 2025, an administrative court also confirmed the refusal to renew his professional press card, citing his activity as primarily based on digital broadcasting rather than recognized journalistic media.