Rabat - Security forces moved to break up a pro-Rif Hirak (protest movement in Al Hoceima and its nearby towns) on Saturday.
Rabat – Security forces moved to break up a pro-Rif Hirak (protest movement in Al Hoceima and its nearby towns) on Saturday.
Several human rights activists gathered in front of the Moroccan Parliament to show solidarity with Hirak and the detained Rif activists and denounce the government’s management of the crisis in the region.
Pictures and videos published by online media outlets show policemen pushing and kicking demonstrators to drive them out and away from their gathering point.
A number of female and male activists are seen lying on the ground from injuries. Some fainted during police intervention.
A young man was hit and pushed by a policeman, despite reportedly only walking past the protest.
Abdelaziz Nouidi, a lawyer and member of the defense team of the Rif detainees, said his pair of glasses were broken when he was hit and pushed by a senior police officer. At 0:30, a video published online shows the incident.
The government is likely to come under more criticism following yesterday’s police intervention.
During the last two months, the government’s treatment of Rif protests has toughened, and many have accused the government of “escalating” the situation in the region.
A massive wave of arrests saw dozens of protesters and leading activists of Hirak detained in Casablanca and Al Hoceima. According to government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi, 176 Rif protesters are currently under preventive detention.
Calls for their release have been issued by numerous public personalities, human rights groups and intellectuals.
