MOROCCO: FIRST QUARTER 2009 HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE

C O N F I D E N T I A L RABAT 000230 SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG, DRL/IRF AND DRL/NESCA E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/24/2019 TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KIRF KISL IR MO SUBJECT: MOROCCO: FIRST QUARTER 2009 HUMAN RIGHTS UPDATE REF: A. RABAT 0205 ¶B. RABAT 0200 ¶C. RABAT 0196 ¶D. CASABLANCA 0047 ¶E. RABAT 0212 ¶F. 08 RABAT 0623 ¶G. 08 RABAT 0493 ¶H. 08 RABAT 0570 ¶I. RABAT 0201 Classified By: CDA Robert P. Jackson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (C) Summary: The first quarter of 2009 has seen several incidents of concern in the Moroccan human rights arena. The most significant of these is a late March pressure campaign against Morocco's Shi,a minority, linked to the Government of Morocco's (GOM,s) angry severing of diplomatic relations with Iran. This flare up was accompanied by a similar campaign against homosexuals. At the same time, the (opposition) Party of Justice and Development (PJD), Morocco's largest Islamic political party, has come under subtle pressure in advance of June local elections. The issue of police abuses in Western Sahara appears to have worsened slightly. Two cases involving the arrest of anti-corruption activists are troubling for their freedom of speech implications. Other incidents in the press realm appear to be less a result of policy decisions than isolated actions by mid-level security officials. Overall, national debate remains generally unhindered and vigorous. However, we strongly recommend the Department vigorously engage on these issues, and Embassy plans to do the same. End Summary. -------------- Religious and Cultural Turbulence -------------- ¶2. (C) On March 6, the GOM announced a severing of relations with Iran, ostensibly over Iranian statements on Bahraini sovereignty and other criticisms of Morocco (Refs A-C). On March 18, the media reported that the Government launched an officially sanctioned pressure campaign against Shi,a in Morocco, seizing Shi,ite tracts from bookstores and libraries, and mobilizing imams to preach against Shi,ite influences. A variety of sources indicate that individuals known or suspected of being Shi,a adherents are also being questioned in police stations about their connections to Iran (Ref D). On March 22, the Ministry of Education shut down a private Iraqi school, belonging to the Iraqi Islamist D'Awah Party, catering to Iraqi emigres. The sudden closure came after allegations that the school was teaching Shi,ite principles, a charge the principal denies. ¶3. (C) Homosexual rights remains a wedge issue. Sparked by a publicity campaign initiated by a gay rights organization called Kif Kif, a series of arrests of gay men culminated in a statement by the Ministry of Interior on March 23 underscoring homosexuality's illegality in Morocco and its contravention of religious and cultural norms. Ahmed Arehmouch, the lawyer for 17 homosexual defendants arrested in the City of Meknes, told EmbOffs that he believes the surge in activity results from the GOM's desire to neutralize possible rallying points for conservative oppositional religious elements. Septel will cover this issue more extensively. -------------- --- An EU Visit and a Spike in Western Sahara Abuses -------------- --- ¶4. (C) On January 26 and 27, after a three-year delay resulting from somewhat contentious discussion with (and obstructionism on the part of) the GOM, a delegation of European Union parliamentarians visited Laayoune and Tindouf. They met with both government officials and a wide variety of civil society organizations, both pro-Morocco and pro-independence. Although the delegation was able to meet with all organizations and individuals they desired, there was a heavy police presence around the hotel in which the delegation met. Activists also gave credible reports of harassment on the way to and from sessions with the delegation as well as for days before and after. The draft report, which was leaked in its entirety to Spanish newspaper El Pais, highlighted three key areas of concern: Continuing restrictions of freedom of expression and association in Moroccan controlled territory and specifically the GOM's continuing refusal to register human rights organizations that are not pro-Morocco; the living conditions and people in the Tindouf camps; and the continuing issue of "unaccounted disappeared" on both sides of the berm. Among the recommendations, the delegation proposed expanding MINURSO's mandate to include a human rights monitoring component. ¶5. (C) Embassy saw an early and sharp spike in the number of credible reports of abuses and reprisals it received from human rights contacts in the Western Sahara. This coincided with both the visit of the EU delegation and the late-January departure of reformist Wali (Territorial Administrator) Mohammed Dryef, who was widely credited with improving security force behavior. Allegations include the short-term detention and questioning of several activists who met with a visiting delegation of European Parliament members. Among others, Badr Al Din El Houassi alleged physical abuse and said that police stripped him naked and released him outside city limits after interrogation. Activist Hassan Dah alleged the same treatment the following day. ¶6. (C) The Association of Human Rights Abuse Victims (French acronym ASVDH) passed on the testimony of Hayat Rgaibi, a seventeen-year old activist. She described a similar incident on February 23 in which she was blindfolded, beaten, stripped, anally raped with a baton and sexually abused in other ways while being questioned about her and her family members' activities. The GOM publicly, and privately to PolOff, vehemently denied Rgaibi's accusations. Ministry of Justice contacts informed POLOFF that they have opened an investigation. Charge and PolCouns bluntly raised the increased abuses with the Foreign Minister (Ref E) on March 17, and we have also expressed direct concern to the MOI. Whether there is a linkage or not, the reports of abuses appear to have dropped dramatically since our demarches. ¶7. (C) The following officers of the Judicial Police (national investigative police force akin to the FBI) were named as abusers in the testimonies: Mohammed Al Hasoni (AKA Al Mostach or the moustache) and Abdel Aziz Anouche (AKA Touhima or birthmark). They have appeared in several previous reports of abuses and Embassy requests their names be placed in the Department's database of Leahy Amendment violators. (Note: Their names have been added to embassy,s database. End note.) -------------- Some Media Hiccups -------------- ¶8. (C) The long delayed and controversial incitement case of former Al Jazeera bureau chief Hassan Rachidi (Ref F and G) was delayed three times in the first three months of 2009. In 2008, Rachidi had his credentials revoked and was charged with knowingly publishing false information related to riots in the town of Sidi Ifni in 2008 (Ref H). The GOM subsequently revoked Al Jazeera's license to broadcast a nightly newscast live from Morocco, although Al Jazeera continued to report from Morocco. On January 17, the Ministry of Communications accredited Palestinian Abdelkader Kharroubu as Al Jazeera's new Rabat bureau chief. Meanwhile Rachidi, a Moroccan, was allowed to resettle in Qatar to take a job at Al Jazeera headquarters. ¶9. (C) On February 6, media reported that Boutayeb Al Hanun, Editor-in-chief of left-of-center Arabic-language daily Al Bayane Al Youm, was held by the Caid (local MOI official) of Ain Harruda in Casablanca. The Caid detained Al Hanun, confiscated his mobile phone and held him for three hours without charge. In a positive response, two days after the incident, the MOI dismissed the Caid from his position for overstepping his authority. ¶10. (C) During the week of February 7, police searched the offices of Arabic-language weekly Al Ayyam. The Moroccan press reported that the police raided the offices, and detained and questioned publisher Nourredine Miftah and his editor-in-chief, Maria Moukrim, after the newspaper contacted the royal palace seeking authorization to print a story on King Mohammed VI's mother. The story was to include a photo of her reportedly dating to the 1970s, supposedly secured in 2005 from the royal family's former doctor. Miftah resigned as Secretary General of the Moroccan Federation of Publishers (FMEJ),saying, "It would be foolish to take part in an organization partnering with government authorities (when) those same authorities prevent the development of a climate of confidence." FMEJ rejected his resignation. -------------- - Governmental Thin Skin around Narco-Corruption -------------- - ¶11. (C) There were two high-profile arrests related to activists who were outspoken in their condemnation of what they said was local officials' complicity in narcotics smuggling and corruption in northern Morocco. On February 16, outspoken anti-corruption campaigner and Berber activist Chakib El Khiari was summoned to Judicial Police headquarters in Casablanca for questioning about his activities. He returned to his home in Tetouan (470 miles away from Casablanca) on February 17, accompanied by 10 investigators, who searched his home, confiscated files and a computer and arrested El Khiari. He was subsequently charged with "defaming the state." A week prior to his arrest, El Khiari participated in narcotics conferences in Barcelona, Brussels and The Hague where he raised the issue of Moroccan narco-corruption in meetings and in media interviews. NGO colleagues of El Khiarai's tell POLOFF that he has been denied the right to use a telephone in prison and that his lawyers have not been able to review police evidence against him. He remains in pre-trial detention as of March 23. ¶12. (C) Authorities have quashed protests in support of El Khiari in Tetouan by denying permits and quickly dispersing demonstrations. In a slightly bizarre twist, El Khiari was linked in the press and in statements by GOM officials to a Spanish intelligence operative who was declared Persona Non Grata on March 6 after El Khiari's arrest and left the country. Media sources reported that the operative provided funds to El Khiari for "undefined activities." ¶13. (C) Another anti-corruption activist, Hassan Barhoun was arrested on February 26, after he circulated a petition signed by 60 people condemning corruption and raising questions about authorities' complicity in the escape of a convicted drug baron in Tetouan. A local prosecutor mentioned by name in the petition opened the case against Barhoun and prosecuted him. An Embassy contact in Tetouan said he did not want to discuss the case over the telephone. On March 6, the court sentenced Barhoun to six months in jail and levied a 5,000 dirham (USD 600) fine for "circulating false news" after a one-day hearing. During the trial, Barhoun's lawyers withdrew from the case, protesting their inability to present an adequate defense as a result of court interference. -------------- ...And Some Bright Points -------------- ¶14. (C) Despite the El Khiari and Barhoun cases, the GOM has taken some significant steps in the anti-corruption field. In late January, authorities in the northern city of Nador arrested 98 people for involvement in a drug ring. Seventy of the arrestees were government officials, over two dozen of them members of the security services. The media lauded the arrests, saying they marked the beginning of a break with past practices. In January, the GOM arrested over 100 officials around the country for corruption, malfeasance or abuse of office. The arrests capped a year-long audit by the MOI's inspector-general and the National Court of Accounts (Government Accountability Office equivalent). Among the casualties of the sweep was Boubker Belkoura, the PJD-affiliated Mayor of Meknes. Although the PJD claimed the GOM was settling scores by targeting Belkoura, noting that the offenses with which he was charged were relatively minor in comparison to other individuals, he had been under a cloud for allegations of mismanagement for over a year. ¶15. (C) Despite the negative examples cited above, overall public debate in Morocco remains vigorous and generally unhindered; and often includes discussions of royal foibles. All of the issues mentioned in this message have received extensive coverage in the media, a large portion of which was critical of government actions in these cases. On January 24, the national council of the opposition political party Union of Popular Socialist Forces (USFP) launched a major initiative calling for a "national debate on reform." The party called for a review of the constitution, including an examination of ways to reduce the prerogatives of the King. According to media sources, the USFP also called for a "reinforcing of the power of Parliament and (elected) government." Also in January, independent French-language weekly La Gazette du Maroc published an article about prospects for judicial reform in Morocco, entitled, "Why don't Moroccans have confidence in their judiciary?" Public and vocal protests against government policies still occur regularly and frequently around the country and in front of Parliament. With few notable exceptions, they are allowed to proceed unhindered, although they are sometimes, and with increasing frequency, disrupted with force. Despite the seemingly nascent campaign against homosexuals, activists have had free access to media and venues in which to make their opinions known. -------------- Next Steps -------------- ¶16. (C) EmbOffs will continue to engage the GOM on the above issues in individual conversations and through our formal Human Rights Dialogue with the government. We will also continue our contacts with NGOs and civil society. In addition to the suggested talking points in Ref I, we recommend the Department make the following comments when feasible in discussions with GOM officials in Washington in the immediate future: Shi,a Issue: -- We have noted with concern the sudden campaign of pressure on Morocco's Shi,a minority. -- We are hearing reports of people being called into police stations to be questioned on the basis of their Shi,ite beliefs. If this is true, it is disturbing. If it is not true, we recommend you take swift action to correct the public record and avoid inflaming tensions. -- Morocco has consistently been praised in our annual International Religious Freedom Report and by many other countries for its religious tolerance and openness. Recent events jeopardize that hard-won and well deserved reputation. -- Muslims of all types benefit from the same guarantees as all other religions in the Human Rights Conventions signed by the Government of Morocco. -- We strongly encourage the Government of Morocco to refrain from linking its political disagreements with Iran to unrelated religious issues in a way that sets a dangerous and uncharacteristic precedent. Western Sahara: -- We are deeply concerned about the increased reports of abuse in Western Sahara early this year. -- We encourage you to sustain the positive momentum in the territory, recognized in our most recent human rights report, in order to maintain Morocco's reputation for reform and to promote a broader resolution to the conflict. -- As discussed in our Human Rights Dialogue with your Government, we will be required to name abusers in the 2009 Country Report on Human Rights Practices if action is not taken. Anti-Corruption Activists: -- We also note with concern the recent arrests of activists who have been outspoken in their criticism of corruption among officials. Such arrests run counter to the government of Morocco's own laudable recent efforts to combat corruption and may have a chilling effect on free speech and legitimate activism. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶17. (C) Although Morocco continues its forward momentum in the area of reform, the recent campaign against Shi,a is troubling. For almost its entire history, the GOM and Palace have been very careful to separate politics from religion when seeking to build national consensus around controversial issues, knowing full well the dangers inherent in rousing populations around religious or ethnic lines. This new strategy could backfire on the GOM, or be used to more tragic ends in other circumstances. It sets a dangerous and somewhat baffling precedent. It is possible that the Palace is attempting to get out ahead of religious conservatives in advance of the June local elections, as lawyer Arehmouch said, but if so, the Palace is playing a dangerous game. End Comment. ***************************************** Visit Embassy Rabat's Classified Website; http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Moro cco ***************************************** Jackson