MOROCCAN CHRISTIANS COMPLAIN OF GOVERNMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L CASABLANCA 000019 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR NEA/MAG AND DRL/IRF E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/09/2020 TAGS: KIRF PGOV PHUM MO SUBJECT: MOROCCAN CHRISTIANS COMPLAIN OF GOVERNMENT CRACKDOWN REF: A. 09 CASABLANCA 228 ¶B. 09 RABAT 336 Classified By: Consul General Elisabeth Millard for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Government of Morocco (GOM) security forces raided a meeting of 11 Moroccan Christian converts and one American Citizen (AMCIT) in a rural village south of Marrakech on February 4. The police temporarily detained the Moroccans, expelled the AMCIT and confiscated their computers, bibles, and other religious materials. This is the third such incident involving a raid on a meeting of Moroccan Christians and the expulsion of a foreigner for alleged proselytizing activities in the past year and highlights GOM's increasing sensitivity to this issue. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (C) On February 4 at 1400 hours a substantial group of gendarmes raided a house in the village of Amizmiz in the High Atlas Mountains about 56 kilometers south of the city of Marrakech. According to Abdellatif El Hamidi, a Moroccan Christian convert present at the house, more than 50 gendarmes, including a colonel from Rabat and two captains from Marrakech, participated in the raid. Hamidi claimed there were 16 Moroccan Christians present (including five young children),two Moroccan Muslims, and an AMCIT. The two Muslims present were the elderly mother of two of the Christians and the sixteen-year old nephew of Hamidi. ¶3. (C) The gendarmes allegedly confiscated computers, cell phones, digital cameras and religious material including bibles. The security forces brought the people to the gendarme station in Tahanaoute where they were held until 0400 hours the following morning. The Moroccans were then released without charges but their possessions remained in police custody. The AMCIT was eventually transported to Casablanca airport before being expelled on February 7 at 0200 hours on a flight to Frankfurt. The GOM afforded the AMCIT access to consular services and the US Consulate's ACS Officer was in contact with him during the time it took to arrange for a departure ticket. ¶4. (C) According to Hamidi, the Christian group was held for an extended period of time because the gendarme colonel from Rabat allegedly was waiting for approval for their release from the new Minister of Justice Mohammed Naciri. Hamidi also alleged that he and others were interrogated and subject to veiled threats by a non-uniformed member of Morocco's internal intelligence service, the Direction de la Surveillance du Territoire (DST), for their religious activities. ¶5. (C) The GOM quickly published details of the incident framing it as the expulsion of an AMCIT illegally engaged in proselytizing activities. Hamidi and other Moroccan Christians argued in conversations with PolOff that the police raid, like the recent ones in Saadia (Ref A) and Casablanca (Ref B),were an attack on their religious activities and only involved those already of the Christian faith. They stressed that none of the participants were involved in proselytizing. Hamidi also informed PolOff that the house used in Amizmiz belongs to an American couple, who have lived in Amizmiz for nearly decade and lent the house to Hamidi for this express purpose. Hamidi said that the American family is out of Morocco at the moment and expressed concern that the GOM may prevent them from returning to Morocco. ¶6. (C) In a separate meeting, Abdellatif Banhamou and Hmami Zouhair, leaders of the Moroccan Christians in Casablanca, told Poloff they believed the GOM is seeking to isolate them from any foreign contact. They recounted incidents of GOM officials putting pressure and harassing family members and employers of Moroccan Christians to entice them to renounce their beliefs. They argued that Moroccan Christian community meetings with foreign religious instructors have been commonplace for years but that in the last 12 months the GOM has been breaking up these meetings and expelling the foreigners. ¶7. (C) COMMENT: The GOM is increasingly sensitive to the activities of the small domestic Christian community, especially when a foreigner is involved. The authorities have been careful to not prosecute any of their nationals while simultaneously sending indirect warnings to the established expatriate Christian groups in Morocco to tread lightly in their dealings with Moroccan nationals (Ref B). This is the third such raid in the past year. We believe it is a clear indication of the GOM's decisions to crack down on what it perceives to be the threat of foreign proselytizing. MILLARD