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Rabat – Six Hirak detainees, including their leader Nasser Zefzafi, have announced their intention to renounce their Moroccan citizenship.
The detainees conveyed their decision to the public through a letter read by the father of Nasser Zefzafi, Ahmed Zefzafi, on August 23.
The signatories of the letter said that they are also willing to break their “bonds of allegiance” to the kingdom.
The signatories include detainees such as Nasser Zefzafi and Nabil Ahmjik, who are serving 20 years in prison.
Read Also: Moroccan Prison Administration Responds to Hirak Families’ Accusations
The sentences, according to the detainees, are “reprisals due to their political views and potions.”
The signatories of the letter said they wrote it in “their right mind.”
The announcement has caused a divide among Moroccan internet users.
While some Moroccan Facebook users supported the move, others described itas “foolish”.
Lawyer Mohamed El Haini said in a Facebook post: “At a time when everyone was seeking a pardon for the detainees to close the case (…) we are surprised by the decision to renounce citizenship. This unexpected decision could cause escalation and [further] escalate the crisis.”
Moroccan law stipulates that a Moroccan citizen cannot voluntarily renounce his or her citizenship. It is the government’s decision to drop someone’s citizenship in case of a serious criminal act.
“Instead of convincing the detainees to ask for amnesty as the only constitutional solution remaining to close the dossier, there are those who do not want the best for [the detainees].”
He added that such a decision will not only “harm the detainees, but also the [evil] advisers who propose such a sickening and legally invalid steps.”
In 2018, 54 Hirak activists were convicted of “threatening state security” following their participation in the 2016-17 Hirak Rif protests in Al Hoceima.
The massive demonstrations were sparked by the death of Mohcine Fikri, a local fishmonger who was killed in a garbage truck while trying to retrieve his confiscated fish in October 2016.
The Hirak detainees appealed the sentences against them, but the Casablanca Court of Appeal upheld the prison sentences against them in April.
