World

Thousands protest in Rabat over imprisoned Rif activists

July 16, 2018
A Moroccan draped in the Berber, or Amazigh, flag shouts slogans while marching during a protest against the jailing of Al-Hirak al-Shaabi or
A Moroccan draped in the Berber, or Amazigh, flag shouts slogans while marching during a protest against the jailing of Al-Hirak al-Shaabi or "Popular Movement" activists in the capital Rabat on July 15, 2018. Thousands demonstrated in the Moroccan capital on July 15 against the jailing of the leaders of the Hirak movement, whose protests which started in October 2016 spiralled after the death of a fisherman into a movement demanding jobs and development. / AFP / FADEL SENNA

RABAT —Thousands of people demonstrated in Morocco's capital Rabat on Sunday against the jailing of leaders and activists of a northern protest movement.

"The people boycott the justice system!" and "free the detainees!", yelled the protesters, AFP reporters said.

The demonstrators also chanted against militarization of the Rif, the northern region rocked by the Al-Hirak Al-Shaabi (Popular Movement) protests in 2016 and 2017.

Under the watchful eyes of the police, people marched toward parliament brandishing pictures of the movement's leaders and activists.

A Moroccan court on June 26 sentenced 53 Hirak members to prison terms ranging from one year to 20 years.

Protest leader Nasser Zefzafi and three others were handed each 20-year jail terms for "plotting to undermine the security of the state".

Islamist group Al Adl Wal Ihsane — tolerated but unrecognized by the government — was one of several groups to take part in Sunday's protest.

The group mobilized between 6,000 and 8,000 people, local authorities said.

Those sentenced in June include journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui who has given a three-year jail term for "failing to denounce an attempt to harm internal state security" in his coverage.

The activists are appealing the sentences and Amnesty International has called for the verdicts to be overturned.

The 2016 protests began when fisherman Mouhcine Fikri was crushed to death in a rubbish truck, while he was apparently trying to retrieve swordfish seized by authorities as it was caught out of season.

Subsequent unrest in the Rif region, where the marginalized Berber ethnic group is the majority, focused on social issues as demonstrators demanded jobs and development.

After the Rif protests the king dismissed three ministers and various other officials over a lack of progress in a development plan for the Rif.

Ahmed Dgherni, one of the founders of the Berber (Amazigh) movement, called the march “a popular referendum that united different political trends” to back the cause of freedom.

“The security approach adopted by the state derailed the peaceful protests in the Rif, leading to confrontations and arrests,” he told Reuters.

Senior Al Adl Wal Ihsan leader Omar Amkasso said the march was “to call for the immediate release of activists and the development of Morocco’s marginalized regions”.

After last month’s verdicts, a lawyer representing the state said the sentences were lenient and that some of the accused had been indicted for serious crimes including attacking law enforcement officers.

Lawyers of Rif activists say they will appeal against the sentences. — Agencies


July 16, 2018
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