Morocco activist goes on hunger strike to protest travel ban

Moroccan historian and rights activist Maati Monjib (C), who was on hunger strike for 19 days, gestures upon his release from El Arjate prison near the capital Rabat on March 23, 2021. [STR/AFP via Getty Images]

A prominent Moroccan academic and rights activist, Maati Monjib, announced yesterday that he had launched a hunger strike to protest against a travel ban placed on him.

“I am starting a hunger strike in protest at being prevented from travelling for medical treatment in France, where my family is,” he wrote on Facebook.

Known for his anti-regime views, Monjib is being tried before the Court of Appeal on charges of “harming state security and fraud”, for which he had been handed a year jail term in January. This ruling was issued in absentia, as Monjib was detained at the time, pending investigations into a second case.

This is his second hunger strike. In 2015, Monjib went on hunger strike for 24 days for the same reason. He brought his protest to an end after the ban was lifted following a solidarity campaign.

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