Front Line Defenders condemns the judicial harassment of Abdessadeq El Bouchtaoui, which appears to be the result of his work as a human rights lawyer and the exercise of his freedom of expression, and calls on Moroccan authorities to immediately drop all charges and halt judicial harassment of the human rights defender.

Abdessadeq El Bouchtaoui is a human rights defender and lawyer who represents activists in Al-Hoceima facing charges in relation to “Hirak” Rif protests in Northern Morocco region.

January 18, 2018

Demonstrations in Morocco’s Rif region, the most sustained street protests the country has seen since the Arab uprisings of 2011, showed the limits to Morocco’s tolerance of free speech and the right of peaceful assembly, Human Rights Watch said today in releasing its World Report 2018. Morocco should release all imprisoned peaceful protesters and abolish penal code provisions that allow the government to jail people for expressing their views.

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The incident sparked a wave of demonstrations in Morocco’s neglected Rif region, demanding demanding jobs, funding for the impoverished area and an end to alleged government corruption.

On the other hand, Morocco police have arrested more than 270 people over the Rif protests, many of them arbitrarily, including peaceful activists and some journalists. The overwhelming majority are in detention, and many have already been sentenced to prison terms for protest-related charges. At least 50 are currently being investigated on state-security charges. Some could face could face death penalty.[ads1]

Morocco authorities have banned all protests activity planned for the first anniversary of Mohcine Fikri on Friday and Saturday 27th and 28th in the restive Al-Hoceima province, according to a statement issued by the provincial authorities.

[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) is due to conduct a special investigation visit to Morocco from October 22 to 28, to assess closely its international and domestic law torture prohibition obligations, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights website.

The investigation is in light of information it has received about claims of torture and other mistreatment made by detained activists of the Rif protests movement “Hirak” in the recent months .

Areas of investigation include police stations, prisons, detention centers, mental health, and social care institutions. The Committee will also hear from representatives of Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) such as some local human right organization.[ads1]

[ads1][dropcap]D[/dropcap]ozens of hunger-striking Rif activists detained in the Oukacha prison in Casablanca including Nabil Ahamjik, Mohamed Jelloul and Rabii Al Ablaq, decided today to end their 38-day hunger strike following a request by their families and the Riffain community in Rif as well as in diaspora.

Since May 2017, Morocco police have arrested more than 270 people over the Rif protests, many of them arbitrarily, including peaceful activists and some journalists. The overwhelming majority are in detention, and many have already been sentenced to prison terms for protest-related charges. At least 50 are currently being investigated on state-security charges. Some could face could face death penalty.

On the other hand, Moroccan Authorities have responded harshly to the ongoing peaceful protests with an unprecedented crackdown, using excessive force to disperse crowds and carrying out mass arrests and detentions of more than 1000 protesters including Nasser Zafzafi, the leader of the protest movement. [ads1]