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Rabat – Ilyas El Omari, the leader of the opposition Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), has dismissed a video purporting to show Rifian activist leader Nasser Zafzafi in prison.
El Omari, who is also the President of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, warned against such acts which he described as “completely absurd.”
“It is total nonsense. With such deeds, and others much more horrible, we not only crush the hopes of the living but also disturb the tranquility of the dead, on top of whom is the late Driss Benzekri, one of the architects of transitional justice in Morocco,” he wrote in Facebook post.
When released on Monday, the video of the detained activist of Al Hoceima’s Hirak protest movement was met with public anger on social media. In it, Zafzafi is seen being asked to show parts of his body, potentially to prove he was not tortured.
Supporters of the movement described the video as “degrading.”
The video prompted judiciary and penitentiary authorities to release statements on the controversy on Monday.
The Crown Prosecutor in Casablanca said that he had ordered an investigation to be opened to establish the truth about the video.
The Penitentiary and Reintegration Administration (DGAPR) denied that Zafzafi was filmed in Ain Sebaa 1 prison, where he is currently under detention.
Zafzafi and dozens of other detained activists said they were tortured during their arrest and detention for their involvement with Hirak.
According to the government, 176 detainees from Rif are currently under preventive detention where they are accused of heavy charges such as advocating for separatism and undermining the security of the state.
