Rabat- Al Hoceima’s Public Prosecution has decided to investigate the arrest of a 14-year-old boy for joining protests against the harsh sentences given to Hirak Rif activists.
Rabat- Al Hoceima’s Public Prosecution has decided to investigate the arrest of a 14-year-old boy for joining protests against the harsh sentences given to Hirak Rif activists.
Police arrested the teenager, named Bilal Lamqadam, early on Sunday morning at his family’s house in Imzouren, near Al Hoceima. Police also arrested other protesters for throwing stones at security forces during the protests, as detailed by Moroccan newspaper, Akhbar Al Yaoum.
As a minor, Lamqadam was placed in a reformatory in the northern city of Nador, 120 kilometers from his home town.
Lamqadam’s arrest led to varied reactions on social media, but many commenters condemned the arrest, rueing Lamqadam’s young age.
One Facebook user wrote : “Arresting a child equals arresting a future and a dream.”
“The child, Bilal Lamqadam arrested and locked in Nador reformatory, Imzouren is bleeding!” another wrote.
On Tuesday, June 26, Casablanca’s Court of Appeals sentenced Hirak leaders Nasser Zefzafi and Nabil Ahemjik, as well as activists Ouassim El Boustati and Samir Ghid, to 20 years in prison; other activists were sentenced to 1 to 15 years.
Following the court’s decision, demonstrations reverberated on June 27 in the capital of the Rif region, Nador; near the Parliament in Rabat; on Boulevard El Oumame Al Moutahida in Casablanca; and in Meknes on June 29.
Hashtags like #stop_this_farce” (in Arabic) and #Free_Hirak_activists_now” have
also emerged to decry the sentences against the activists.
The activists had been arrested for their involvement in Hirak Rif protests, which rocked the Al Hoceima region in 2016 and 2017.
