Morocco: President of Moroccan League for Citizenship and Human Rights arrested and mistreated for his participation in a peaceful protest

Driss Sedraoui, the 37-year-old president of the Moroccan League for Citizenship and Human Rights, was arrested for having attended and given his support to a protest against unemployment on 19 December 2012. He expressed his disapproval following the violent intervention of the police.
The next day, 20 December 2012, Driss Sedraoui was arrested in the afternoon in front of the Parliament and then taken to the central police station of Rabat by officers of the security services. He was not presented with an arrest warrant, nor informed of the reasons for his arrest.

He was forced into a police vehicle by an officer of the security services who violently beat him with fists and feet on all parts of his body, after having insulted him and threatened him with violence against him and his family.

Taken to the Second Division of the security services of Rabat, he was detained for four hours during which he was threatened, intimidated, and ordered to cease his human rights and protest activities or face retaliation.

Released at the end of the evening, he was given a summons to appear before the Public Prosecutor in the First Circuit Court of Rabat on 26 December 2012.

Alkarama is concerned that Driss Sedraoui was arrested on the sole basis of his actions as a human rights defender, and has thus submitted his situation the Special Procedures of the United Nations of his case, requesting that they intervene with the Moroccan authorities to cease all intimidations and reprisals as well as all legal proceedings against Driss Sedraoui.

For more information or an interview, please contact media@alkarama.org (Dir: +41 22 734 1008).