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Rabat – Morocco’s government defended on Thursday the arrest of 80 people in Casablanca for eating during the day in Ramadan, saying that it was legally justified.
Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas said that the arrested people were treated “with dignity and respect,” and that “the exercising of one’s personal freedoms should never be at the expense of others’ freedoms.”
Authorities arrested around 80 people in a cafe in Casablanca yesterday, for breaking the fast in public. Most of the arrested individuals were teenagers from neighboring international schools.
Videos shared online showed dozens of young people with their faces blurred in front of police cars as the arrests were being conducted.
The arrests have revived a debate around the law prohibiting eating in public, with many activists calling for the law to be repealed.
Article 222 of the Penal Code prohibits breaking the fast in public without a valid reason for people who are “identifiably Muslim.”
Advocates of the law cite Morocco’s status as an Islamic country, and argue that since the majority of people during Ramadan are fasting, breaking the fast in public can cause discomfort and infringe on practicing people’s freedom.
Read also: Ramadan: 80 Moroccans Arrested for Publicly Eating in Casablanca
On the other hand, opponents say that the matter of eating – whether in public or private – is a personal freedom, and that the law does not suit Morocco’s 2011 constitution and the country’s international human rights commitments.
Article 3 of the Moroccan consitution says that “Islam is the religion of the State, which guarantees to all the free exercise of beliefs.”
