HRW urges Morocco to release prisoners of conscience

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Morocco to release at least 10 people who have been arrested and prosecuted in recent months as the "did nothing but peacefully express critical opinions".

Human Rights Watch and the Moroccan Association for Human Rights said in a joint statement on Wednesday those arrested over the past five months include students, artists, citizen journalists and social media commentators and are facing such charges as showing a "lack of due respect for the king", "defaming state institutions" and "offending public officials".

According to the statement, some of those detained "have targeted the wealth and lifestyle of King Mohammed VI, contrasting it with what they perceive as the state's failure to guarantee basic rights and economic opportunities for young Moroccans".

"Others encouraged people to participate in protests against socio-economic injustice," the rights groups added.

The rights groups said prosecutions were being conducted under the criminal law rather than the four-year-old Press and Publications Law so the courts can hand down jail terms where they saw fit.

Ahmed Benchemsi, HRW’s West Asia and North Africa communications director, noted that a growing number of Moroccans “are taking to social media to express bold political opinions, including about the king, as is their right."

He added that the authorities have stepped in to frantically try to reinstate the red lines as self-censorship erodes. 

SS