chargement...
Nasser Zafzafi, leader of the protest movement in the Rif and the city of Al Hoceima, stood trial on Tuesday 24th of October in the Casablanca Appeal court. The activist who is facing the death penalty for «undermining the internal security of the State», attended the court with 31 other Hirak detainees.
The hearing was postponed to the 31st of October, according to Mohammed Ziane, a lawyer and member of the Hirak defense committee. The latter told Yabiladi that the trial was suspended by the judge following the request of the defendant's representatives which requested access to the file.
Ziane who attended today’s trial, indicated that the judge has refused the Public Prosecutor’s request, suggesting that the case of Nabil Ahmigiq, a Hirak activist and Hamid Mahdaoui, a journalist and owner of Badil.info, should be treated on an equal footing with Zafzafi's.
Meanwhile, the Hirak lawyer stated that the judge tried to restore order in the courthouse. «Zafzafi asked the judge to talk but the latter refused», said Ziane adding : «That made Zafzafi shout demanding to explain the truth behind what happened in Al Hoceima, and that the city was besieged». Zafzafi also added, according to Ziane's account, that «the Hirak demands are legitimate», insisting that the prisoners «are being tortured».
According to Ziane, some of the detainees «who have committed minor offences must be released, because six months of pre-trial detention is unreasonable.»
MPs call King Mohammed VI to release the Hirak detainees
A day before the trial of Nasser Zafzafi and 31 other Hirak detainees, Abdul Latif Wahbi, a Moroccan MP in the House of Representatives' Authenticity and Modernity Party group, called on King Mohammed VI to intervene in favor of the release of the Hirak detainees.
«What happened in the Rif, Zagora and Beni Mellal has affected all of us, and those who were arrested in the Rif and Zagora are our sons and policemen as well,» Wahbi said on Monday during a parliamentary hearing in the House of Representatives.
For his part, Abdullah Bouanou, a member of the Justice and Development Party parliamentary group, commented on the same topic insisting that «the solution to the problem is releasing the detainees», he added : «We are for this proposal and we appreciate it.»
«We have to turn the page, the situation is stable and security is settled, we have to look for a way to put an end to this problem,» Nordin Madian, head of the Istiqlal team, said.
«we applaud this initiative and we hope it will be followed through,» said Omar Blafrig, MP from the Democratic Left Federation.
«The pardon has its own set of rules and customs,» Justice Minister Mohamed Aujjar said. «The case is now in the hands of the judiciary and the government cannot intervene, because it is an independent authority».
