Moroccan politician guilty of corruption

A Moroccan politician has been sentenced to one-and-a-half years in prison, and fined 10,000 Moroccan dirhams ($1000) after being found guilty of bribery. The financial division of Rabat Criminal Court ordered Mohammed Hussain to pay an additional 20,000 dirhams ($2000) to the civil fund. Hussain, a parliamentarian and mayor of the western Moroccan city of Sidi Yahia, received a 200,000 dirhams ($23,000) bribe to facilitate the work of a local building contractor. The Constitutional Union party, a liberal conservative movement in Morocco, froze Hussain's membership upon his arrest. The parliamentarian has the right to appeal against the verdict, but is likely to lose his seat and mayoral position regardless of the outcome.