Arbitrary detention of Moroccan political activist Nasser Zefzafi since May 2017
Name(s):
Nasser Zefzafi
Status:
Detained
Year of birth:
1979
Profession:
Leader of the Hirak El-Rif
Nationality:
Moroccan
Date of arrest:
Nasser Zefzafi is a political activist and leader of the people’s Hirak El-Rif, arrested on 29 May 2017. He was accused of two crimes and seven misdemeanours, including undermining the internal security of the State, contempt of law enforcement officers and participation in an armed rebellion. On 6 April 2019, Zefzafi was condemned on appeal to 20 years imprisonment.
Zefzafi became the leader of the Hirak El-Rif, a movement calling for greater social and economic rights, during the peaceful protests that followed the death of Mouhcine Fikri in October 2016. These were the largest waves of protests in Morocco since 2011 and were particularly active in the Rif region. As leader of the movement, Zefzafi protested against the marginalisation of the Rif region. On May 26, 2017, Zefzafi interrupted the Friday sermon at the Mohammed V mosque in Al Hoceima after the imam criticised the protests taking place in the Rif region. During his interruption, Zefzafi accused the imam of acting as a spokesman for the authorities and manipulating religion in order to dissuade the population from joining the Hirak.
Three days after, on May 29, a dozen of police officers of the National Judicial Police Brigade (BNPJ) broke the door of the house where Zefzafi and two other militants were staying in El Harch. During this arrest, Zefzafi reported that he had been tortured and subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. The police then took them to the police station in Al Hoceima and then to the city’s airport. They were then taken by helicopter, hooded and handcuffed, to the headquarters of the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) in Casablanca.
Zefzafi was held in custody at the DGSN in Casablanca from May 29, 2017 to June 5, 2017, without having been able to communicate with anyone from outside, neither his family nor his lawyers.
On June 5, 2017, Zefzafi appeared before the King’s Prosecutor of the Casablanca Court of Appeal, who charged him with undermining the internal security of the State, contempt of law enforcement officials and participating in an armed rebellion. That same day, Zefzafi was transferred to Oukacha prison in Casablanca, where he was placed in solitary confinement for almost a year, from September 2017 until August 2018.
The first instance trial of the Hirak El-Rif took place between September 2017 and June 2018, with more than 80 hearings involving the 54 defendants, before the Criminal Chamber of Casablanca Court of Appeal. All the defendants were people who had taken part in the protests of the Hirak El-Rif movement.
During the trial Zefzafi claimed that while in police custody in Casablanca, police officers beat him in detention and threatened to rape his mother in front of him if he did not sign a “confession”. 50 out of the 53 defendants said that police officers at the BNPJ headquarters in Casablanca had pressured them in one way or another to sign self-incriminating confessions without being able to read the contents. In addition, 21 of them said that the police had threatened to rape them or their wives of young daughters.
On June 26 and 28 2018, the Casablanca Court of Appeal sentenced the 54 defendants to prison terms. Zefzafi was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
In December 2018, the appeal trial began and the hearing before the Investigating Chamber of the Casablanca Court of Appeal lasted until 5 April 2019. The appeal trial ignored allegations of torture and did not reject “confessions” allegedly signer under torture or other cruel or inhuman treatment.
On April 6, 2019, the Casablanca Court of Appeal confirmed Zefzafi’s 20-year prison sentence.
On April 11, 2019, Zefzafi was transferred to Ras El Ma prison in Fes, where he stayed until 2020. He was then transferred to Tangier prison, where he remains detained to this day.
On June 23, 2021, the Cassation Court confirmed Zefzafi’s 20-year imprisonment sentence.
On January 19, 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Nasser Zefzafi, condemning the violations of the rights of peaceful protesters and diaspora activists, and deploring the flawed trials and convictions of 43 Hirak protesters, as well as their torture in prison.
Believing that Zefzafi’s detention is arbitrary, MENA Rights Group, in collaboration with Freedom House and Committee for Justice, sent a Request for Opinion to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on November 23, 2023. We state that Zefzafi’s deprivation of liberty stems directly from his fundamental rights, in particular his rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
| Name(s): |
Nasser Zefzafi
|
| Status: |
Detained
|
| Year of birth: |
1979
|
| Profession: |
Leader of the Hirak El-Rif
|
| Nationality: |
Moroccan
|
| Date of arrest: |
|
Zefzafi became the leader of the Hirak El-Rif, a movement calling for greater social and economic rights, during the peaceful protests that followed the death of Mouhcine Fikri in October 2016. These were the largest waves of protests in Morocco since 2011 and were particularly active in the Rif region. As leader of the movement, Zefzafi protested against the marginalisation of the Rif region. On May 26, 2017, Zefzafi interrupted the Friday sermon at the Mohammed V mosque in Al Hoceima after the imam criticised the protests taking place in the Rif region. During his interruption, Zefzafi accused the imam of acting as a spokesman for the authorities and manipulating religion in order to dissuade the population from joining the Hirak.
Three days after, on May 29, a dozen of police officers of the National Judicial Police Brigade (BNPJ) broke the door of the house where Zefzafi and two other militants were staying in El Harch. During this arrest, Zefzafi reported that he had been tortured and subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. The police then took them to the police station in Al Hoceima and then to the city’s airport. They were then taken by helicopter, hooded and handcuffed, to the headquarters of the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) in Casablanca.
Zefzafi was held in custody at the DGSN in Casablanca from May 29, 2017 to June 5, 2017, without having been able to communicate with anyone from outside, neither his family nor his lawyers.
On June 5, 2017, Zefzafi appeared before the King’s Prosecutor of the Casablanca Court of Appeal, who charged him with undermining the internal security of the State, contempt of law enforcement officials and participating in an armed rebellion. That same day, Zefzafi was transferred to Oukacha prison in Casablanca, where he was placed in solitary confinement for almost a year, from September 2017 until August 2018.
The first instance trial of the Hirak El-Rif took place between September 2017 and June 2018, with more than 80 hearings involving the 54 defendants, before the Criminal Chamber of Casablanca Court of Appeal. All the defendants were people who had taken part in the protests of the Hirak El-Rif movement.
During the trial Zefzafi claimed that while in police custody in Casablanca, police officers beat him in detention and threatened to rape his mother in front of him if he did not sign a “confession”. 50 out of the 53 defendants said that police officers at the BNPJ headquarters in Casablanca had pressured them in one way or another to sign self-incriminating confessions without being able to read the contents. In addition, 21 of them said that the police had threatened to rape them or their wives of young daughters.
On June 26 and 28 2018, the Casablanca Court of Appeal sentenced the 54 defendants to prison terms. Zefzafi was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment.
In December 2018, the appeal trial began and the hearing before the Investigating Chamber of the Casablanca Court of Appeal lasted until 5 April 2019. The appeal trial ignored allegations of torture and did not reject “confessions” allegedly signer under torture or other cruel or inhuman treatment.
On April 6, 2019, the Casablanca Court of Appeal confirmed Zefzafi’s 20-year prison sentence.
On April 11, 2019, Zefzafi was transferred to Ras El Ma prison in Fes, where he stayed until 2020. He was then transferred to Tangier prison, where he remains detained to this day.
On June 23, 2021, the Cassation Court confirmed Zefzafi’s 20-year imprisonment sentence.
On January 19, 2023, the European Parliament adopted a resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Nasser Zefzafi, condemning the violations of the rights of peaceful protesters and diaspora activists, and deploring the flawed trials and convictions of 43 Hirak protesters, as well as their torture in prison.
Believing that Zefzafi’s detention is arbitrary, MENA Rights Group, in collaboration with Freedom House and Committee for Justice, sent a Request for Opinion to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention on November 23, 2023. We state that Zefzafi’s deprivation of liberty stems directly from his fundamental rights, in particular his rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly.
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