The two teachers and the school director were charged after failing to denounce the “crime”.
Rabat – Two teachers and the director of a school in Al Hoceima will appear before the public prosecutor after several students replaced the Moroccan flag with a white flag.
The Spanish news agency, EFE reports that the incident occurred on May 17, at the Arianen school in Issaguen, a rural town in Al Hoceima. According to the authorities, six students aged between 8-11 picked up the Moroccan flag and replaced it with a white flag.
“The white flag remained for four days until the Royal Gendarmerie of the region was informed of what happened,” said EFE.
The two teachers and the director of the school were interrogated and will appear before the prosecutor after Ramadan.
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Sources close to the school told EFE that the two teachers and the school director were not aware that the country’s flag had been replaced because the incident coincided with the weekend and only found out days later.
Moroccan law sentences anyone who insults the flag with six months to three years in prison and a fine of up to MAD 100,000 (€9,200 / $103,460).
Al Hoceima region witnessed waves of demonstrations in 2016 and 2017 to condemn lack of development and social disparities in the region. The protests broke out after the death of local fishmonger Mohcine Fikri, who was crashed in a garbage truck after he jumped in it to save his goods confiscated by authorities.