Dozens of opposition members sacked, transferred in Morocco

Morocco’s Justice and Charity Party, the largest Islamist opposition group in the country, has reported that dozens of its affiliates have either been sacked or transferred in their employment, Anadolu reported on Sunday. The state, claimed the Turkish media outlet, launched a campaign against the party’s cadres in several sectors and ministries across the country. “They were either sacked or relocated.” Those affected include engineers, directors, inspectors, teachers and consultants.

The party regards such measures to be “illegal”, especially for those who lost their jobs altogether. “They are brought up on love for their profession and work as they build their careers with loyalty and faith,” a party statement pointed out, “and their only fault is their belief in the principles of the Justice and Charity party.”

The statement noted that these measures appear to be part of the “legal harassment” which started about eighteen months’ ago “in the light of the current political vacuum.” This was a reference to the lack of a working government in Rabat. The leader of the election-winning Justice and Development Party (PJD) has been designated as prime minister by the king, but has yet to form a coalition government.

The Islamic party called for political, human rights and media organisations and groups, as well as the judiciary, to stand beside its affiliates and support them in their time of crisis.

Anadolu could not get anyone from the de facto government to comment on the issue, but noted that the Moroccan courts are chasing members of this party over their affiliation to a “banned group”. According to human rights groups, though, the court rulings are invalid because the party filed an application for a working licence, adding that a previous court ruling also recognised the party.