Agadir : A football supporter faces a 5-year sentence for raising the Spanish flag

A Hassania Union Sport Agadir supporter will appear Monday, 15th of October, before the first instance court in Inzeggane. He has been held in the Ait Melloul prison for «insulting the national flag», reports a local online newspaper.

This football fan is accused of raising the Spanish flag during a match that brought Hassania Agadir and Olympique Khouribga together.

The local section of Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) denounced the arrest in a statement.

For the record, on September the 29th fans raised the Spanish flag during a game between the Tetouan and Marrakech teams. It was a way of protesting against the death of «Hayat», a young girl who was shot when trying to cross the Mediterranean for Spain.

Since this incident, sixteen arrests were made, says the same source. In Morocco, law 17-05, passed unanimously in October 2005, sentences people from six months to three years in prison for insulting the national flag.

The initial sentence can reach five years in prison when the act is done in a meeting or a rally.