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Join on Telegram Rabat – A letter attributed to detained Rif activist Nasser Zafzafi has begun circulating in Moroccan media. Allegedly to have been written from Zafzafi’s prison cell in Casablanca, the letter addresses protesters in the ongoing protests in the Rif, calling on protesters to continue holding peaceful demonstrations.
The latter was published by Mohammed Ziane, a member of the defense team of Zafzafi and other detained Rif activists in Casablanca.
Quoting the Quran, the letter urges the population in Rif and supporters of the Hirak in and outside Morocco to remain steadfast in their efforts to get their “legitimate demands” answered.
The leading activist of the Al Hoceima region’s Hirak protest movement was arrested on May 29 following his interruption of a Friday prayer sermon he and his followers deemed it bearing a direct attack against their movement.
“Allah Almighty says in his holy book: ‘Among the Believers are men who have been true to their covenant with Allah. of them some have completed their vow (to the extreme), and some (still) wait: but they have never changed (their determination) in the least’, God Almighty has spoken the truth,”reads the beginning of his letter.
Amid reports of incidents of violence between protesters and security forces in the region, the letter asks protesters to preserve the peaceful aspect of Hirak.“I advise you to forsake violence and extremis, urge you not to deviate from our legitimate demands, or let yourselves be carried away by those who wish you harm,” it reads. “He who throws a stone has betrayed Hirak and the detainees, and he who breaks a glass is not [a member] of Hirak.”
“Oh free men and women [of Rif]: I reiterate my advice to you to preserve peacefulness as a ingrained principle that helped this Hirak to last despite the deliberate provocations for security forces and what [our] youth undergo at the hands of the [so-called] officer Isam in the marches and inside police stations,”it adds.
According to local media, the police officer Isam has beenmentioned several times by detained Rif activists and reports of human rights organizations accusing him of “abuse of power” and “threats” against members of the Hirak.
The letter purports to speak of the activist’s own experience in prison, saying that detention will not prevent him from continuing his support to the movement.
“I am writing this letter from inside this small cell with iron doors and locks that seeks imprisoning my body but stand unable to put shackles on my will and soul,”the letter reads.
The letter warns fellow protesters against those are trying to exploit “our tragedies” and “struggles” that “are responsible for the deterioration of the situation in Rif.”
The letter ends, as it begins, with a quote from the Quran.
“I urge to persevere and be patient and I promise you that victor is near as Allah Almighty says: ‘And We will surely test you with something of fear and hunger and a loss of wealth and lives and fruits, but give good tidings to the patient, Who, when disaster strikes them, say, “Indeed we belong to Allah, and indeed to Him we will return. Those are the ones upon whom are blessings from their Lord and mercy. And it is those who are the [rightly] guided.” ’”
“In the end, I salute you warmly once again from inside this dark room, hoping that my detention will be your liberty, and that my death will be your life, and that my defeat will be your victory,”it concludes.
