Anger in Morocco over jailing of protesters
RABAT: The jailing of demonstrators for up to 20 years over unrest in 2016 sparked anger in Morocco on Wednesday, with some warning it could threaten further instability.
At the end of a nine-month trial the figurehead of the Al-Hirak alShaabi or ‘ Popular Movement’, Nasser Zefzafi, was sentenced to 20 years along with three others for “plotting to undermine the security of the state”.
A further 49 people were sentenced late Tuesday to jail terms of one to five years, along with fines, at a Casablanca court.
Social unrest in the northern Rif region began in October 2016 after the death of a fisherman and spiralled into a wave of protests as people demanded jobs and development.
Supporters left the court on Tuesday shouting slogans such as ‘ Long live the Rif’, a region where the marginalised Berber ethnic group is the majority.
Following the sentencing, rallies were held overnight in the port city of Al-Hoceima – the epicentre of the protest movement – and nearby Imzouren, where a school was burned down according to local media.
“It is not possible to decide on a link between the fire and the sentences,” local authorities told AFP as an investigation was launched to determine the cause of the blaze.
Protests were limited according to local authorities, with the exception of Al- Hoceima where a gathering of one detainee’s family and their neighbours made up fewer than 80 people.
There have been appeals on social media for further protests in Rabat and Casablanca, as well as Brussels, Paris and Madrid which are home to a large Moroccan diaspora.
Others have called for a general strike in Morocco. — AFP