Morocco's Justice and Charity party calls to release Rif activists

On Sunday, Moroccan Justice and Charity Party called to release all activists detained in the Rif region on Friday and Saturday on suspicion of “harming the internal security of the state”.

The party condemned in a statement what it called “exploitation of mosques and the employment of mosque Imams to resolve political differences with citizens who demand their fixed and legitimate rights” and called on the activists “not to be drawn into violence in all its forms, and to adhere to peacefulness as the ultimate civilized tool”.

Public protests erupted in a number of Moroccan towns and villages, especially in the provinces of Al Hoceima and Nador on Sunday over the decision to arrest the protest leader, Nasser Zefzafi.

The king’s prosecutor late Friday ordered “the opening of an investigation and the arrest of Nasser Zefzafi after he obstructed, in the company of a group of individuals, freedom of worship in the Mohammed V mosque in Al-Hoceima.

The northern port city has been rocked by protests since October following the death of a fisherman who was crushed in a rubbish truck as he protested against the seizure of swordfish caught out of season.