Solidarity with political prisoners in Morocco
One year ago, Mohcine Fikri, a fishmonger from the Moroccan town of Al-Hoceima, was crushed to death in a garbage truck by security forces who had seized his merchandise. This set off a protest movement, known as the Hirak, that has shaken Morocco. The response of the regime has been harsh repression, including the jailing of hundreds of people.
The international solidarity statement below calls for the immediate release of Hirak political prisoners in Morocco. It is supported by 18 members of the European Parliament, 18 members of national legislative assemblies, dozens of trade unionists and academics, and public figures such as Noam Chomsky, Ken Loach and Arundhati Roy. The call was launched by a solidarity committee based in Casablanca at a time when 37 Hirak political prisoners had been on hunger strike for over a month to oppose repression. They have suspended their strike, due to deteriorating health conditions, but the demand for their liberation and the defense of democratic rights in Morocco remains no less important.
THE DEATH on October 28, 2016 of Mohcine Fikri--a young fishmonger crushed while protesting the confiscation of his merchandise by officials in Al-Hoceima, a town of the region of northern Morocco known as the Rif--triggered a popular movement which has been shaking Morocco ever since. Over the past year, a vast number of Moroccans have come together in the Hirak, a peaceful movement calling for social justice and economic development
The response of the Moroccan authorities has been brutal, killing another young man, arresting over 400 protesters, with over 300 of them kept in detention, including 15 minors and seven journalists who were covering the events. The Hirak's political prisoners, including key figures of the movement such as Nasser Zefzafi, are facing charges that could lead to long jail sentences, up to the death penalty. Since September, 37 of them started an open-ended hunger strike against their detention and the brutality of the crackdown. Their situation has become critical.
The Moroccans are standing up for social justice. It is their inalienable right to protest peacefully. We hold the Moroccan authorities responsible for the lives of the detainees and demand the immediate release of all Hirak's prisoners and cessation of the repression of the popular protest.
Signatories
Members of the European Parliament
Marina Albiol, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Martina Anderson, GUE/ NGL (Ireland)
Xabier Benito, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Malin Bjork, GUE/ NGL (Sweden)
Lynn Boylan, GUE/ NGL (Ireland)
Matt Carthy, GUE/ NGL (Ireland)
Javier Couso, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Eleonora Forenza, GUE/ NGL (Italy)
Tania González, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Josu Juaristi, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Patrick Le Hyaric, GUE/ NGL (France)
Claure Moraes, Party of European Socialists (UK)
Liadh Ni Riada, GUE/ NGL (Ireland)
Lola Sánchez, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Estefanía Torres, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Miguel Urbán, GUE/ NGL (Spain)
Marie-Christine Vergiat, GUE/ NGL (France)
Marie Pierre Vieu, GUE/ NGL (France)
Members of National Parliaments
Clementine Autain, France Insoumise (France)
Ugo Bernalicis, France Insoumise (France)
Richard Boyd Barrett, Teachta Dála (Ireland)
Christine Buchholz, Die Linke (Germany)
Pablo Bustinduy, Unidos Podemos (Spain)
Gerry Carroll, People Before Profit (Northern Ireland)
Joan Collins, Teachta Dála (Ireland)
Eric Coquerel, France Insoumise (France)
Sergio Coronado, Ex-Député Ecologie Sociale (France)
Clare Daly, Teachta Dála (Ireland)
Sadet Karbulut, SP (Netherlands)
Gino Kenny, Teachta Dála (Ireland)
Gigi Malabarba, Ex-Senatore PRC, Communia (Italy)
Noël Mamère, Ex-Député Groupe Ecologiste (France)
Mathilde Panot, France Insoumise (France)
Brid Smith, Teachta Dála (Ireland)
Franco Turigliatto, Ex-Senatore PRC, Sinistra Anticapitalista (Italy)
Idoia Villanueva Ruiz, Podemos (Spain)
Unionists
Amr Badr, Board Member, Syndicate of Journalists (Egypt)
Wim Baltussen. FNV (Netherlands)
Sergio Bellavita, USB Nazionale (Italy)
Khaled al-Bolshi, Former Secretary, Syndicate of Journalists (Egypt)
Hans Boot, Editor of Solidariteit (Netherlands)
Ángel Bosqued, Secretario de Relaciones Internacionales de CGT (Spain)
Fabrizio Burattini, USB Scuola (Italy)
Daniel Ceriotti, Sindicato de Nutricionistas (Uruguay)
Irene Cicciò, USB Scuola (Italy)
Nara Cladera, Union Syndicale Solidaires (France)
Herbert Claros da Silva, International Relations Secretary, CSP Conlutas (Brazil)
Eliana Como, Direttivo Nazionale FIOM, Direttivo Nazionale CGIL (Italy)
Manuel Cortes, General Secretary, Transport and Salaried Staff Association (UK)
Kevin Courtney, Joint National Secretary National Education Union (UK)
Dominique Daigneault, Présidente du Conseil Central du Montréal métropolitain-CSN (Canada)
Leonardo De Angelis, USB Sistemi Informativi (Italy)
Mimmo De Stradis, USB Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Italy)
Ronnie Draper, General Secretary, Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (UK)
Stéphane Enjalran, Secrétaire National Union Syndicale Solidaires (France)
Stefania Fantauzzi, USB Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Italy)
Dario Filippini, USB Pensionati (Italy)
Rob Gerretsen, FNV (Netherlands)
Sam Gindin, Retired Assistant to the President, UNIFOR (Canada)
Flavio Guidi, Cobas Scuola Brescia (Italy)
Estéban Guijarro, Secretario General de CGT Madrid (Spain)
Howie Hawkins, Teamsters Local 317 (USA)
Ernesto Herrera, Editor de Correspondencia de Prensa (Uruguay)
Pina Imbrenda, USB Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (Italy)
Isabel Koifmann, Sindicato Ecos, Cooperativa Magisterial (Uruguay)
Deepa Kumar, President Rutgers AAUP-AFT (USA)
Bartolo Lara, Fucvam, Cooperativas de Vivienda (Uruguay)
Ron Lare, UAW Local 600 (USA)
Elena Lequio, Adeom, Sindicato de Municipales (Uruguay)
Michael Letwin, Former President, Association of Legal Aid Attorneys/UAW 2325 (USA)
Francesco Locantore, Direttivo nazionale FLC-CGIL (Italy)
Christian Mahieux, Union Syndicale Solidaires (France)
Stefano Maruca, Ufficio Internazionale CGIL (Italy)
Kim Moody, member National Union of Journalists (USA)
Neli Maria Paschoarelli Wada, Diretora do SINTUSP (Brazil)
Yahya Qallash, Former President Syndicate of Journalists (Egypt)
Anna della Ragione, Direttivo nazionale FLC-CGIL (Italy)
Leonel Revelese, COFE, Sindicato de Funcionarios del Estado (Uruguay)
Luca Scacchi, Direttivo Nazionale CGIL (Italy)
Jesse Sharkey, Vice President Chicago Teachers Union (USA)
Nando Simeone, Direttivo Nazionale FILCAMS-CGIL (Italy)
Michael Thomson, Secretary of NSW Division, National Tertiary Education Union
Giuseppe Tiano, USB Calabria (Italy)
Waldemar Torino, Adeom, Sindicato de Municipales (Uruguay)
Nico Vox, USB Milano (Italy)
Matt Wrack, General Secretary, Fire Brigades Union (UK)
Academics
Rabab Ibrahim Abdulhadi, Professor, San Francisco State University (USA)
Gilbert Achcar, Professor, University of London (UK)
Greg Albo, Professor, York University (Canada)
Viviana Asara, Assistant Professor, Wien University (Austria)
Miriyam Aouragh, Senior Lecturer, University of Westminster (UK)
Koenraad Bogaert, Professor, Ghent University (Belgium)
Tithi Bhattacharya, Professor, Purdue University (USA)
Adrian Budd, Head of Division of Social Sciences, London South Bank University (UK)
Marco Brunazzo, Professor, University of Trento (Italy)
Thomas Casadei, Professor, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Italy)
Robin Celikates, Associate Professor, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
John Chalcraft, Professor, LSE (UK)
Noam Chomsky, Professor, MIT and University of Arizona (USA)
Herman De Ley, Professor, Ghent University (Belgium)
James Dickins, Professor, University of Leeds (UK)
Juanita Elias, Reader, University of Warwick (UK)
John Esposito, Professor, Georgetown University (USA)
Nadia Fadil, Assistant Professor, KU Leuven (Belgium)
Sara Farris, Senior Lecturer, Goldsmiths University (UK)
Sue Ferguson, Professor, Wilfrid Laurier University (USA)
Gennaro Gervasio, Researcher, Università Roma Tre (Italy)
Keith Hyams, Associate Professor, University of Warwick (UK)
William Keach, Professor, Brown University (USA)
Joost Kircz, Professor, University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands)
Les Levidow, Professor, Open University (UK)
Philip Marfleet, Professor, University of East London (UK)
Antonio Moscato, Professor, Università del Salento (Italy)
Yasser Munif, Assistant Professor, Emerson College (USA)
Hassan Nafaa, Professor, University of Cairo (Egypt)
Malcolm Povey, Professor, University of Leeds (UK)
Nicola Pratt, Professor, University of Warwick (UK)
Shirin Rai, Professor University of Warwick (UK)
Kikélola Roach, Professor, Ryerson University (Canada)
Devi Sacchetto, Professor, University of Padua (Italy)
Stephen R. Shalom, William Paterson University (USA)
Mike Smith, Professor, University of Warwick (UK)
Antonio Stopani, Researcher, University of Turin (Italy)
Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor, Assistant Professor, Princeton (USA)
Francesco Vacchiano, Researcher, Lisbon University (Portugal)
Marcel Van der Linden, Professor, University of Amsterdam (Netherlands)
Matthew Watson, Professor, University of Warwick (UK)
Miscellaneous
Associazione Ya Basta Êdî Bese (Italy)
Al-Nadeem Centre for the Rehabilitation of Victims of Violence and Torture (Egypt)
Giuseppe Acconcia, Journalist and Researcher (Italy)
Jean Claude Amara, Porte-Parole de Droit Devant (France)
Associazione "Cultura è libertà" (Italy)
Gianfranco Bettin, President of the Marghera Municipality (Italy)
Alberto Boga, Militantes Guevaristas de la Costa (Uruguay)
Sergio Bologna, Author (Italy)
Willem Bos, SAP/Grenzeloos (Netherlands)
Olivier Besancenot, Ancien Candidat à l'Election Présidentielle (France)
Houria Bouteldja, Porte-Parole du Parti des Indigènes de la République (France)
Petros Constantinou, KEERFA (Greece)
Lorenzo Declich, Researcher (Italy)
Erri De Luca, Writer (Italy)
Ludo De Witte, Sociologue (Belgium)
Adèle Dorada, Secrétariat fédéral d'Alternative Libertaire (France)
Christian Elia, Journalist and Director of QCODE Magazine (Italy)
Nada Elia, Author (USA)
Patrick Farbiaz, Sortir du Colonialisme (France)
Paolo Ferrero, Vice president of the Party of the European Left (Italy)
Bill Fletcher, Jr., Former President of TransAfrica Forum (USA)
Pim Fisher, Immigration Lawyer, Haarlem (Netherlands)
Mgr Jacques Gaillot, Président de Droit Devant (France)
Stefano Galieni, Partito della Rifondazione Comunista (Italy)
Aldo Garzia, Collaborator Il Manifesto (Italy)
Dr. Lindsey German, Stop the War Coalition (UK)
Toufic Haddad, Author (USA)
Hamza Hamouchene, Environmental Justice North Africa (UK)
Thomas Harrison, Co-Director, Campaign for Peace and Democracy (USA)
Sandew Hira, Coordinator of the Decolonial International Network (Netherlands)
John Hendy, Human Rights Lawyer and Queen's Counsel (UK)
Roza Khan, Inqalabi Socialist (Pakistan)
Sartaj Khan, Inqalabi Socialist (Pakistan)
Kento, Journalist and Rapper (Italy)
Hanane Karimi, Sociologue (France)
Sadri Khiari, Auteur, Artiste (Tunisia)
Ramah Kudaimi, Syrian Solidarity Collective (USA)
Ken Loach, Film Director (UK)
Lowkey, Rapper (UK)
Alan Maass, Editor Socialist Worker (USA)
Piero Maestri, Communia Network (Italy)
Gianfranco Manfredi, Singer (Italy)
Myriam Martin, Porte-Parole d'Ensemble, Conseillère régionale Occitanie (France)
Karim Metref, Journalist (Italy)
Mahienour el-Massry, Human Rights Lawyer and Former Political Prisoner (Egypt)
Alessandra Mecozzi, Associazione "Cultura è libertà" (Italy)
John Molyneux, Editor, Irish Marxist Review (Ireland)
Martín Mosquera, Democracia Socialista (Argentina)
Ghayath Naisse, Revolutionay Left Current (Syria)
Fatima Ouassak, Politologue (France)
Moni Ovadia, Writer and Actor (Italy)
Mario Pieri, Colectivo Militante (Uruguay)
Marco Philopat, Writer and Publisher (Italy)
Christine Poupin, Porte-Parole du NPA (France)
Philippe Poutou, Ancien Candidat à l'Election Présidentielle (France)
Raphaël Pradeau, Co-Porte-Parole ATTAC (France)
Alberto Prunetti, Writer and journalist (Italy)
Asad Rehman, Executive Director War on Want (UK)
Rebeca Riela, Sociedad de Economía Crítica (Argentina)
Revolutionary Socialists (Egypt)
Mario Rossi, Secretario Político del Movimiento Revolucionario Oriental (Uruguay)
Arundhati Roy, Author (India)
Camilla Royle, Deputy Editor, International Socialism Journal (UK)
Steven Salaita, Author (USA)
Jane Slaughter, former editor of Labor Notes (USA)
Strong Egypt Party--Hizb Misr al-Qawiyya (Egypt)
Bhaskar Sunkara, Editor of Jacobin (USA)
Aurélie Trouvé, Co-Porte Parole ATTAC (France)
Vrede Vrw, Association pour la Paix (Belgium)
Lello Voce, Poet (Italy)
Jean-André Waag, Secrétariat Fédéral d'Alternative libertaire (France)
Thomas Weyts, SAP-Gauche anticapitaliste (Belgium)
