Abdellatif Hammouchi, Director General of Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), has suspended a policeman for insulting the Rif population in a Facebook post.
The police officer who works at the Beni Ansar office near the borders with Melilla stirred up a social media uproar last week when he insulted Rif population in a Facebook post, according to Moroccan website Lesiteinfo.
Civil Society organizations in the city of Nador expressed their indignation at the offensive statements in a letter addressed to the Director General of DGSN. The letter stresses that punitive measures should be taken against the offending officer.
The DGSN responded to the letter by mobilizing a commission to investigate the incident and concluded that the policeman will be held accountable..
The suspended police officer will appear before a disciplinary council for an administrative penalty.
The incident comes after the GGSN chief warned police officers against any abuse of social networking websites. In August Hammouchi urged police officers to refrain from posting their pictures or those of their relatives on social media and advised them to use pseudonyms in case they want to interact with their friends. .
Edited by Connie Guindon
