Public Prosecutor Forces Hirak Detainees to Appear Before Court

Five detainees of the Rif Hirak movement, including Nasser Zefzafi allegedly refused to appear before Casablanca’s Appeal court on Tuesday, January 2, according to Moroccan media.

Hakim El Ouardi, a public prosecutor said that he received a report from the director of the Ain Sebaa prison, saying that Zefzafi and three other detainees refused to attend the hearing.

“The defendants were examined by the prison doctor, who affirmed that their health conditions are normal and stable, but they refused to attend the trial,” added El Ouardi.

The prosecutor condemned the activists’ refusal to appear before the court, stating that this strategy will “hinder the progress of the trial.” The prosecutor also asked the court to issue a warning to the defendants, saying that he will bring the detainees by force if they persist in their refusal.

The lawyers of the Hirak detainees, Mohamed Aghanaj denied the content of the report presented to the general prosecutor, saying that Zefzafi “personally insisted on his willingness to appear at the hearing.”

The trial restarted around 14:30 p.m. and the five defendants were brought back from Oukacha prison to the trial’s room.

On Tuesday, December 26 the Hirak detainees trial was postponed. The activist’s defense committee informed the judge of the trial that detainees are carrying out “mass strike” due to the “ill-treatment” and “deliberate collective punishment” they claim to be subjected to by prison officials.

A prominent leader of the Hirak movement, Nasser Zefzafi has demanded the court “to accelerate his execution through a death penalty.”

Zefzafi said that he is ready to be executed starting tomorrow. “I would die as a martyr for this country.”

“Any victory is greater than this. We have left children, young men, and women behind us. They will win back this country,” he said inside the courtroom.

The detained Hirak activists are facing a variety of charges, including “undermining the internal security of the state,” according to Casablanca’s court.