RABAT, July 28, 2008 (AFP) - A court in Rabat Monday rejected the appeal of a journalist for the Al-Jazeera television network in Morocco who had his press accreditation withdrawn for allegedly broadcasting false information.

'The decision of the administrative tribunal is surprising,' Khalid Sefiani, a lawyer for the journalist, told AFP after the verdict at the administrative court.

He said the communications ministry had not followed correct procedures in removing the press accreditation and added he would file another appeal.

The Moroccan ministry of communication had accused Hassan Rashidi of broadcasting false information on the Doha-based channel about a police operation in southern Morocco on June 7.

Al-Jazeera's Rabat bureau chief had aired a report on a protest in the southern port of Sidi Infni that it said led to 'between one and five deaths' at the hands of security forces, who denied the charges.

On July 11 a Rabat court fined Rashidi 50,000 dirhams (4,350 euros, 6,000 dollars) and human rights activist Ibrahim Sebbaa El Layl the same amount for making the accusations in the report, judicial sources said.

Sebbaa El Layl is also serving a six-month prison sentence for repeating the accusations at a press conference. His organisation, the Moroccan Centre for Human Rights, condemned the incarceration as 'a serious violation of human rights.'

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) said it was relieved Rashidi had not been jailed, but condemned the measures taken by Moroccan authorities against the Al-Jazeera channel, which it said had published a full retraction.