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The Moroccan-American YouTuber Chafik Omerani, also known as «3robi F Merican» started a hunger strike on Saturday following his arrest at the Rabat-Salé airport. «This is why he had difficulty walking during his appearance yesterday before the investigating judge at the Casablanca court of first instance», his lawyer Fatima Al Mardi told Spanish agency EFE on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the Casablanca court of first instance decided to postpone the hearing of the YouTuber, who was remanded in custody in the central prison Oukacha, to February 25. However, the Moroccan prison authorities, contacted by the Spanish agency, neither confirmed nor denied the hunger strike.
Spokesman for the American embassy in Rabat, Jerome Sherman told EFE that «appropriate consular assistance» is assured to the YouTuber and his family. «We take seriously our responsibility to serve our citizens abroad», he added, referring to the fact that Chafik Omerani is an American citizen.
The king's prosecutor at the Casablanca court explained on Sunday that the Moroccan-American YouTuber was arrested because he is «suspected of having committed criminal acts by publishing a series of videos containing offensive and insulting expressions against constitutional institutions and officials».
EFE recalls in December, three Moroccan security and intelligence institutions lodged a complaint against Moroccan nationals living abroad for «defamation».
