Morroco’s Gdiem Izik trial is fair

Human rights activist Rowaida Mroue Rabat - Manal Wahbi A Moroccan human rights activist has confirmed that the ongoing Gdiem Izik trial is “fair”. Rowaida Mroue, executive director of the human rights group International Training and Conflict Resolution Centre (ITCR), told Arabstoday she believes that the defendants in the case are being “tried in the court of public opinion.” She also revealed that international monitors, the country’s media and the victims’ families have all been allowed in to court during the case. In 2010, the Morroccan government allowed an ethnic group of Sahrouis, to set up a camp on the outskirts of Laayoune, in a bid for better housing and job opportunities. Although the camp was protected with security guards, it is believed that an armed militia supported by local police tried to disband the camp and terrorise its residents. Eleven security personnel were killed and 70 civilians were injured as a result. Mroue, who has attended the trial since it began, said it was "normal" and governed by “sound” procedures. She said that many of the suspects chanted against the legitimacy of the military court, while entering the courtroom. "Suspects are escorted by police as they enter and exit the courtroom but are not in shackles, and in both cases shout political slogans in Arabic, French and Spanish, waving the victory sign to the court attendees,” she said. "The military trial was a special instance in the history of human rights in Morocco, because military trials aren't usually this public and attendance is not generally allowed,” she added. She also praised the judge’s treatment of the suspects during the trial in Rabat. Mroue told Arabstoday that nine of the suspects were handed down life sentences, while a further 14 were given sentences ranging between 20-30 years of imprisonment.