While the General Directorate of Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) has denied the circulating news suggesting that a hunger strike has been initiated by several Hirak detainees, the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons declared on Monday that the health of prisoners in the local prison in Ain Sbaa, Casablanca is deteriorating. Meanwhile, demonstrations and arrests have been resumed in the Rif province as the trial of activist Nawal Ben Aissa is scheduled for the 23rd of October. Details. Calm lasted only a few weeks in the Rif region. Reportedly, residents resumed on Sunday evening demonstrations, supporting Hirak detainees, as reported on Monday by several local media. In Imzouren, people took the streets to call for the release of Hirak detainees and to respond to the demands of the population, which made it to the surface last October following the death of Mohcine Fikri. A demonstration in Imzouren and the arrest of Nawal Ben Aissa «The police, heavily present around the city, did not intervene to prevent the running of this demonstration», Rif Online, an online newspaper wrote yesterday. The same source said that «hundreds of demonstrators, who marched throughout the city, dispersed calmly after the end of the demonstration». Consequently, another Hirak activist was arrested. This time it was Nawal Ben Aissa, the female figure of the popular protest movement. The arrest of the 36-year-old Rif native was confirmed by Silya Ziani. The latter said yesterday on her Facebook page that Nawal Ben Aissa, married and mother to 4 children, was placed under custody in Al Hoceima. Lakome, an Arabic-language online newspaper said on Tuesday that the Hirak activist, granted provisional release on Monday, is prosecuted for «encouragement to commit crimes and offences related to article 299 from the Penal Code». Her hearing was scheduled for the 23rd of October in Al Hoceima court. The same source specified in a previous article that she would not participate to the Imzouren demonstration. According to Lakome, her arrest was reportedly due to a Facebook post in which she criticized the authorities' attitude towards the Hirak and the Rif. «I will not remain silent and I will continue to write, even though our fathers and grandfathers were silent during their fight against the colonizer. They did not know that a time would come when those who governed them would be worse than the colonizer», she wrote. The Moroccan Observatory of Prisons sounds the alarm The new trial and news about the situation of the Hirak detainees in the local prison of Ain Saa in Casablanca have increased tension in the Rif. Indeed, 31 Hirak detainees have been on a hunger strike for several days already, according to their lawyers. Four other detainees, namely Mohamed Jelloul, Nabil Ahmijaq, Rabie Ablaq and Badreddine Boulehjel, categorically refused to drink water mixed with sugar. In a press release issued on Monday by several national media outlets, the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (OMP) sounded the alarm regarding the tragic consequences of the hunger strike initiated by the prisoners. The NGO expressed its deep concern about the physical and mental health of the Hirak detainees. The OMP also called the General Directorate of Prison Administration and Reintegration (DGAPR) and the Oukacha prison administration not to put pressure on the prisoners and to closely monitor their health. The hunger strike between the DGAPR denial and the lawyers' accounts The NGO's call was followed by an unexpected press release. The DGAPR issued a communiqué denying the fact that prisoners are on a hunger strike. On Monday, the delegation chaired by Mohamed Salah Tamek confirmed for the first time that three Hirak prisoners are on a hunger strike : Mohamed Jelloul, Nabil Amijaq and Rabie Al Ablaq. The dgapr merely recalled that the group of Nasser Zafzafi did not go on a hunger strike. «Another group of 31 detainees consume what they receive from their families, including canned food», the DGAPR wrote. On the other hand, lawyer Bouchra Roussi wrote on Monday that Baderddine Boulehjel's health is deteriorating after five days of refusing to drink water mixed with sugar, and 12 days of being on a hunger strike. «He often faints because of fatigue», she said on her Facebook. Bouchra Roussi, who is also a member of the Hirak detainee defense committee, reports that Zakaria Dahchour, who has been on a hunger strike for 12 days, also «vomits blood and cannot drink water». Wassim Elbesstati and Mohamed Mkouh faint several times a day, while Youssef Hamdioui suffers from nosebleeds, according to the lawyer.
