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The Netherlands’ Foreign Affairs Minister Stef Blok presented on Thursday, 6th of September, a written report on the protest movement known as Hirak in the Kingdom of Morocco, the arrests and sentences handed down to Hirak activists in June.
In his report, Blok pointed out that the embassy of his country in the country attended the hearings of Hirak detainees at the Casablanca Appeal Court. The Dutch diplomatic mission in Morocco also contacted Hirak detainees’ lawyers, he added. These efforts were made to observe the «modest reaction» of European Union embassies accredited in Rabat throughout the trial, according to the senior official.
Blok claimed that the Moroccan authorities arrested more than 800 people, and half of them were sentenced to serve prison terms by the Kingdom’s courts. He then referred to Nasser Zefzafi, who was handed down a 20-year-sentence.
The modest reaction of other EU countries
The Dutch minister reminded MPs that he denounced the «heavy» verdicts pronounced by the Casablanca Appeal Court on June the 27th. His reaction was made public on the same day by a Dutch diplomatic delegation in Rabat and transmitted to the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Once again, he referred to the «modest reaction» of other European Union countries.
In his report, the Dutch Foreign Minister did not forget to comment on the royal pardon, granted on August 21st to 188 Hirak detainees.
Stef Blok said that international human rights and NGOs have commented on the poor conditions of imprisonment of Hirak detainees. The Netherlands, he said, asked the Moroccan authorities to take these elements into consideration.
The minister, however, concluded his report, stressing that his government will wait until the end of the judicial process to release its final position on the case.
The Hirak movement have long been a subject of disagreement between Rabat and Amsterdam. The joint press briefing held last April in Rabat by Stef Blok and his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita revealed these differences.
Annoyed by the comments of the Dutch Minister on the situation in the Rif and freedom of expression in Morocco, Bourita replied, reminding him of the fact that «Rabat is not willing to be lectured about the subject and is not ready to discuss it either». Bourita stressed that «laws, restrictions and departments (in Morocco) guarantee freedom of expression and the right of manifesting».
For the record, on June 28th, and during a parliamentary debate that was held after 53 Hirak activists were sentenced by the Casablanca appeal court, the Dutch Minister urged Moroccan-Dutch activists to be cautious when traveling to Morocco for summer holidays. Two days later Rabat summoned Morocco’s ambassador to the Netherlands.
