Martil’s authorities are cracking down on shisha cafes after they triggered outrage among social media users, deeming them a source of "nuisance."
Rabat – Moroccan authorities clamped down on shisha cafes on Friday, on order from Yassine Jarin, the governor of the prefecture of Martil, a city on Morocco’s Mediterranean coast northeast of Tetouan.
The governor ordered authorities to shut down the cafes because they failed to comply with the necessary legal specifications.
Police confiscated a number of shisha pots, also known as hookahs and ordered the shutting down of two cafes, “Bada Club” and “Lily Beach.” Social media users had described the two cafes as “a space for prostitution.”
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Residents and civil society in Martil expressed pleasure at the news. Some civil society associations have been calling on authorities to withdraw licenses granted to the cafes to end their “nuisance.”
The authorities ordered the closing of the cafes for 30 days before they will take their licenses if they fail to abide by the law.
Authorities are pending orders from the governor to take legal proceedings against other hookah cafes suspected of breaching the law.
