Thousands of people have joined protests against police
abuse across Morocco after a fisherman was crushed to death in a
garbage truck in an incident some are comparing to the death of a
Tunisian vendor in 2010 that sparked the Arab spring
uprisings.
According to Moroccan news website Le360.ma and magazine
TelQuel, police in the northern town of Hoceima confiscated and
destroyed swordfish belonging to a a fisherman, Mouhcine Fikri,
because it is not permitted to catch swordfish at this time of the
year.
Footage circulating online appears to show Fikri jumping into a
garbage truck to retrieve his fish, before being crushed to death
by the truck’s compactor.
Fikri’s death on Friday in the ethnically Berber Rif region
prompted outrage on social media, and calls for protests in several
cities over what is seen as police violence. King Mohammed VI
called for a thorough investigation.
Fikri’s funeral in Hoceima drew large crowds on Sunday with the
procession led by a dozen drivers in their cars – including taxis –
and marchers waving Berber flags.
Thousands of demonstrators – including activists for Berber
rights – also gathered in the capital of Rabat, chanting "We are
all Mouhcine!" while smaller protests were held in several other
Rif towns and in the city of Marrakesh.
The general directorate for national security released a
statement on Sunday denying its local officers were involved in
Fikri’s death. Authorities have not commented on the circumstances
of his death.
The interior ministry said in a statement on Sunday that the
king asked the interior minister, Mohammed Hassad, to visit Fikri’s
family and to ensure a "meticulous" investigation.
Abdelilah Benkirane, the prime minister, released a statement on
Saturday offering his condolences over Fikri’s death, but urging
members and supporters of his party to refrain from participating
in protests.
The Moroccan Human Rights Association condemned the "heinous"
incident and recalled another incident in Hoceima, in which five
youths died during 2011 protests by the February 20th Movement.
That movement emerged amid the Arab spring uprisings that began
in Tunisia when vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire after
police confiscated his wares. Bouazizi became a symbol of struggle
against unemployment, police abuse, corruption and authoritarian
governments.
"People are really pissed off, and can’t keep being silent
anymore," said Abdellah Lefnatsa, a union leader from a leftwing
movement among the more than 1,000 people protesting in front of
the parliament in the capital, Rabat. He claimed that students,
workers and activists have died because of police violence in
recent years.
Rachid Hilali, a technology project manager at the Rabat
protest, said, "To me what happened in Al Hoceima should not happen
in 2016. This way of killing people by the police, our grandfathers
are used to it, but we should not be used to this. We cannot accept
this kind of treatment any more."