Press Release
The heavy sentences pronounced by the Criminal Chamber of Court of Appeal of Casablanca towards several young nationals from the Rif region (“rifains”) cannot constitute a response to the movement that took place in the North of Morocco and is still taking place today.
By transforming social claims into a “plot aiming at undermining State Security”, the judiciary responded to the security expectations of the government during a trial whose conditions have been denounced by several observers and defence lawyers.
The claims expressed by the protesters – claims regarding the respect of their economic and social rights – will not disappear with institutions reverting to repressive measures.