Morocco: Teachers extend strike after their peers are jailed

Moroccan security forces try to disperse a teachers’ demonstration calling for permanent contracts within the national education system, outside parliament headquarters in the capital Rabat on April 25, 2019 [AFP via Getty Images]

Moroccan teachers yesterday announced an extension to their strike until the end of the week, in protest against prison terms issued against their peers.

The statement was made by the Coordination of Contractual Teachers, after a Moroccan court yesterday sentenced 44 teachers to up to three months in jail and fined some 1,000 dirhams ($110) as a result of protests held last year.

The statement said it had been decided to extend the strike until 13 March in response to the “unjust” punishments of teachers who are members of the National Coordination.

The strike was launched on 28 February, with teachers denouncing “repression” of demonstrations by the state and the arrest of their peers.

There are more than 100,000 contract teachers in Morocco, according to official data.

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