By Jamal Saidi
Morocco World News
Casablanca, August 27, 2012
Last Friday, A court in Rabat sentenced a young man to three months in prison and fined him 250 Dirhams after being caught red-handed, eating in a public place during the day of Ramadan.
According to Al Massae, the young man admitted throughout the phases of interrogation by the police and during the trial that he ate openly as a result of personal conviction. He stressed that eating in the fasting month of Ramadan is part of his individual freedom.
The public prosecutor, however, rejected his claim and emphasized that eating publicly in the holy month is a “crime” which is punishable by law.
The Moroccan penal code states in its article 222 that a Muslim who breaks the fast during Ramadan publicly and without a religiously accepted reason can be imprisoned for up to six months and fined.
Morocco has recently witnessed heated debate over individual freedom such as sexual freedom and the right to eat and drink during the day in Ramadan.
Last month, a movement was founded by some young Moroccans named Massayminch or “we are not fasting”, demanding the abolition of the aforementioned article of the penal code.
