A solidarity committee that backs journalist Hamid El Mahdaoui and Hirak detainees organized on Friday, 6th of July, a sit-in in front of the parliament to denounce sentences handed down by the court of Casablanca. According to Arabic-language newspaper Hespress, protesters called for the release of El Mahdaoui. The latter was sentenced by the Casablanca Court of Appeals to three years in prison and fined 3000 dirhams on Thursday, 28th of June. Speaking on Friday in Rabat, Hamid El Mahdaoui's wife said that the sentence her husband received was «heavy and unjust», insisting that «he was only defending freedom of expression». «That is why he was arrested in the first place», she added. For the record, several NGOs, political parties, trade unionists, activists and families affected by the sentences handed down to Hirak detainees will take the streets Sunday in Casablanca in a march.
