Rabat – A protester was seriously injured during police intervention on Thursday in Al Hoceima.
The city was home to renewed protests as security forces deployed in Al Hoceima and the surrounding area tried to prevent the July 20 march, which had been banned by the government three days earlier.
The protester, a 25-year-old named Imad El Attabi, was hit on the head before being flown in a helicopter to the military hospital in Rabat.
Official and media accounts diverge on the cause of his injury.
According to Al Yaoum24, the protester was injured during the “violent police intervention,” but local authorities stated that he was injured by stones thrown by other participants in the demonstration.
The local authorities added that an investigation was opened to establish the truth of the incident.
Pictures of the protester were shared on Twitter where he is seen lying in coma in hospital, with tubes in his mouth.
#Marruecos: se llama Imad del #Rif,está en estado de coma al ser alcanzado en la cabeza con una bala de gas lacrimógenomo. #Alhucemas #Hirak pic.twitter.com/zFX0HVUXCI
— RealPolitikDam (@Realpolitikdam2) July 21, 2017
According to local authorities in Al Hoceima, injuries among elements of security forces far outnumbered those of protesters.
The city said in a statement issued following the protest that 72 security officers had injured, with two described as suffering from serious injuries.
The statement said that 11 protesters were injured.
