Petition
Free the six political detainees
On 18 and 19 February 2008, Moroccan authorities arrested the six politicians:
- Mohammed El Marouani: secretary general of “Al Oumma” party,
- Mostafa El Mouatassim: secretary general of “Al Badil El hadari” party,
- Mohammed El Amine Ragala: spokesman of “Al Badil El hadari” party,
- Abdelhafid Sriti: correspondent of Al-Manar TV in Rabat,
- Al Aabadela Maelainain: member of the national council of “Al Adala wa Tanmiya” party,
- Hamid Najibi: member of the national council of “Al Ichtiraki Almouwahad” party.
On 20 February 2008, in flagrant violation of the secrecy of the investigation and even before its completion, the Moroccan Minister of the Interior held a press conference and made grave accusations against the detainees including the threatening of the security of Morocco.
The arrest of these politicians and the accusations made against them led to a wave of denunciations in political and human rights circles and mass media, since the six political prisoners are recognized, at the national and international level and within the political and intellectual class, for their peaceful and democratic political principles and by their moderation and denunciation of violence. Many human rights organizations and political parties and civil society actors were surprised about the arrest of the six politicians and did not accept the official version on their involvement in a plan to threaten the security of Morocco.
Since the beginning of the six political detainees’ case, a series of violations were identified:
- blatant and unprecedented interference of Minister of the Interior and members of the Government to influence the course of the case,
- dissolution of the Party “Al Badil El hadari” by an illegal decision of the Prime Minister,
- cancellation of “Al Oummah” party founding by judgement,
- violation of the rights of the detainees and the defence team, particularly the right to access the case file, to conduct detailed research and to call witnesses,
- obstruction of the right of the defence team to visit the detainees,
- unjustified refusal to release the six political prisoners, although they provide all required guarantees.
Owing to all these serious violations, We, signatories of this petition, call on Moroccan authorities to release immediately the six political detainees (Mohammed El Marouani, Mostafa El Mouatassim, Mohammed El Amine Ragala, Abdelhafid Sriti, Al Aabadela Maelainain, Hamid Najibi), to respect the Law and the rights of the detainees and the defence team, to ensure a fair trial and to ensure the independence and impartiality of the judiciary.