Morrocan Human Rights Council Demands Respecting Right to Peaceful Protest

Morrocan Human Rights Council Demands Respecting Right to Peaceful Protest
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Morrocan Human Rights Council Demands Respecting Right to Peaceful Protest

Morrocan Human Rights Council Demands Respecting Right to Peaceful Protest

The National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) in Morroco, in a report on the protests that had erupted in Jerada in 2017, called for respecting the right to peaceful protests and demanded launching an investigation on the wounded protesters during the March 14 protests. It also demanded that the investigation’s results be published, stressing the need to review the code of criminal procedure and the texts relevant to it.

The report also considered the ban on unauthorized protests or those that no organized group had given notice of to violate the right to peaceful protest. The Council also demanded the criminalization of illegitimate use of violence to guarantee freedom of expression and assembly and the right to peaceful protest, as well as implementing pressing economic and social housing demands.

Concerning trials of detainees, the report revealed that detainees said that they had signed judicial police reports without having read them, and some disputed Royal Gendarmerie records of their confessions, as they had not signed the reports presented to the court, but the statements recorded in the statement book only.

According to the Council’s report, the court’s verdict relied heavily on judicial police reports, which include the accused’s confessions and judicial police inspection reports indicating detainees’ participation in the protests despite the authorities’ ban decision and photos and videos of the protests and the statements of a number of victims, as well as health statements given by the victims.

Concerning the trials, the Council reiterated its call for the need to review the code of criminal procedure and strengthening the defense’s pre-trial role, through its presence in the preliminary research stage and the incorporation of the right to appeal all decisions that involve the deprivation of liberty, especially pre-trial detention.

The Council issued a statement explaining that the report, Written between December 2019 and February 2020, aims to monitor, track, and record the events and evaluate their effects on rights and freedoms, based on the international conventions ratified by Morocco and the county’s constitutional and legislative safeguards. It takes a human rights approach to the proposals it submits on how to address the Jerada protests’ demands and prevent the recurrence of similar incidents and drawing conclusions to prevent their recurrence in similar contexts.

The Jerada incident erupted after two brothers died while extracting coal in an informal mine, spurring demonstrations and marches demanding better living conditions and job opportunities for the city’s residents.

For her part, the Council’s president, Amina Bouayach says that protests should have been an opportunity to think about building a proactive national strategy for managing economic, social, and environmental transformations in the city of Jerada and similar areas in such a way that makes the moving into a post-mining phase inevitable.



Baghdad Urges Washington to Prevent ‘Imminent’ Israeli Strikes

Sudani visiting a market in Baghdad on Thursday (Government media)
Sudani visiting a market in Baghdad on Thursday (Government media)
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Baghdad Urges Washington to Prevent ‘Imminent’ Israeli Strikes

Sudani visiting a market in Baghdad on Thursday (Government media)
Sudani visiting a market in Baghdad on Thursday (Government media)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani on Thursday called on major powers to “exert greater efforts to end the war in Palestine and Lebanon.” Meanwhile, an Iraqi government official urged the United States to “prevent any attacks on the country,” referring to potential Israeli strikes.
During a phone conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Al-Sudani stressed the importance of ensuring the conflict does not escalate “to a level that threatens regional and global stability.”
The Iraqi prime minister’s appeal comes amid reports suggesting that Israel may launch strikes on Iraq in retaliation for attacks by Iraqi armed factions targeting Israeli positions.
The Iraqi government is striving to assert its exclusive authority over weapons and war-related decisions. However, armed factions affiliated with the Axis of Resistance openly claim responsibility for near-daily rocket attacks on Israel. This has provided Israel with a justification for potentially targeting Iraqi territory, especially after it filed a complaint with the UN Security Council against six Iraqi factions and held Baghdad responsible for the attacks.
These factions have also openly declared their involvement in the ongoing conflict with Israel in Lebanon and Gaza. The Iraqi government has been unable to take decisive action to halt the activities of these factions, which many believe could soon expose Iraq to an Israeli strike.
According to media reports, Washington has warned Baghdad that Israeli airstrikes on Iraq are “imminent” unless the Iraqi government curtails attacks by Iranian-backed factions on Israel. The Times of Israel cited sources indicating that the United States has “exhausted all means of pressure on Israel” and urged Iraq to act swiftly to prevent such attacks.
Despite repeated assurances from the Iraqi government—including its recent adoption of 12 measures by the National Security Council to counter Israeli threats and complaints—the situation remains tense. These measures include monitoring Iraq’s western borders, preventing factions from launching attacks, and maintaining Iraq’s neutrality in the ongoing conflict.
On Wednesday, Abu Hussein Al-Hamidawi, Secretary-General of Kata’ib Hezbollah, made a striking statement on the role of resistance factions in the war and their commitment to the Unity of Fronts doctrine frequently mentioned by Axis of Resistance groups.
In an interview published by the faction’s media arm, Al-Hamidawi said: “The continuity of the Unity of Fronts concept depends on what the Lebanese Hezbollah decides.”
Al-Hamidawi also emphasized that resistance factions are constantly coordinating internally and with external partners such as Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Palestinian resistance leaders.
“We aim to ensure that the Palestinian people are not left alone and that the Unity of Fronts remains intact,” he stated.
Fadi Al-Shammari, a political advisor to Sudani, reiterated that Israel’s threats “are not new,” citing the recent complaint filed by Israel with the UN Security Council as part of its pattern of issuing threats.
In media statements, Al-Shammari reaffirmed the Iraqi government’s long-standing position: “The decision of war and peace lies solely with the Iraqi government.”
He noted that the factions’ attacks are being launched from areas outside Iraq’s borders, specifically from Syria. However, he stressed that the Iraqi government is working through its security and military agencies to prevent Iraq from becoming a battlefield for external or internal parties.
Al-Shammari also called on the United States to fulfill its responsibilities under the Strategic Framework Agreement and security pact with Iraq, emphasizing the need to deter and respond to any external attacks that threaten Iraq’s internal security.