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THE RED AND BLACK COORDINATION

Confederacion General del Trabajo (CGT-E) - Spain / Confédération Nationale du Travail (CNT-F) - France / Libertarian Syndicalist Union (ESE) - Greece / Inicjatywa Pracownicza (IP) - Poland / Union Sindicale Italiana (USI) -Italia / Solidaridad Obrera (SO) - Spain / Svensk Arbetaren Centralorganisation (SAC) - Sweden

www.redblack.org / redblack redblack.org

Press Communiqué and Emergency Appeal for International Solidarity

THE MOROCCAN PRESS HAS BEEN GAGGED !

WE APPEAL FOR INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY AND DEMAND THAT THE CHARGES BE DROPPED AGAINST THE 7 MOROCCAN JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WHO APPEAR IN COURT ON JANUARY 25, 2017, IN RABAT

The Unions of the Red an Black Coordination (CGT-E, CNT-F, ESE, IP, USI, SO, SAC), wish to express their full support for the seven Moroccan activists, five of whom are journalists, accused of "undermining state security" and who stand trial on January 25, 2017, with a likelihood of stiff sentences.
We draw the attention of journalists, trade unions, political associations, and the general public to the current repression in Morocco of human rights and independent journalists.

On 25 January, seven activists, including five journalists, appear at the Court of First Instance in Rabat in a trial adjourned from November 18, 2015.
On October 26, the day the hearing was originally supposed to be held, the authorities gave false pretexts for the trial to be postponed.
After having argued last June that two of the accused were absent -even though their lawyers were present, in October the pretext was that summonses had not been served to some of the accused : “address unknown” for one and for another : “the accused’s mother refused to accept the summons”. This is absurd. The authorities have had the addresses of each of the accused for a long time. And the mother in question declared that she had never actually received a summons. Indeed, in the absence of a court officer’s justification, there is no evidence whatsoever that summonses were actually served. We do know, of course, that the authorities frequently use adjournments as a tactic to sap people’s strength.

The accused are known for their activist work in defense of investigative and independent journalism, and for reporting news on the suppression of the February 20 Movement. They are also members of various organizations and because their activities are considered a disturbance, they have suffered harassment from the Moroccan government. Some of them have already been jailed -most recently in the wake of false accusations by the authorities, merely on account of their activism. It should also be noted that the judge in charge of the case was already the judge who in the past, sentenced one of the seven journalists ! The repressive fury of the Moroccan authorities continues via its judicial tool !

Today, these seven comrades face very serious charges :

Maati Monjib (historian, journalist and Chairman of Freedom Now, an organization which defends Freedom of Speech in Morocco and former chairman of the Ibn Rushd Center for Studies and Communication) ; Hicham Mansouri (a project leader at the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism, AMJI) Abdessamad Ait Aishah aka Samad Iach (journalist, member of the AMJI and former coordinator of the Ibn Rushd Center Training Project) ; Hisham Khrinchi aka Hisham Almiraat (former Director of Global Voices Advocacy, founder and former chairman of the Association of digital rights - DNA) ; and Mohamed Sber (Chairman of the Moroccan Association for Youth Education - AMEJ), are accused "of 'endangering state security', which may result in a sentence of five years in prison, under the pretext of organizing training courses for the use of free software applications on smartphones as part of their work (training provided by the Center Ibn Rushd, and and after by AMEJ, in partnership with the Dutch NGO Free Press Unlimited) and receiving funding from abroad.

Rachid Tarik (journalist, current chairman of the Moroccan Association for Investigative Journalism - AMJI) and Maria Moukrim (journalist, former chairwoman of the AMJI) are accused of not reporting to the authorities that they received funding from abroad for the activities of the association, although the regulations and rules of implementation are far from clear. They face a fine of 20,000 dirhams (€1,000 each).

This is not the first time this type of political trial has been held in Morocco and in recent years, we have stopped counting. We call for an international mobilization to break the media blackout on the current situation in Morocco of which our comrades, colleagues, and the Moroccan people are victim in their struggle for social justice against the dictatorship, the repression and systematic torture, the political trials, insecurity and exploitation.

The Red and Black Coordination denounces the obstacles to Freedom of the Press and Freedom of Speech, but also the current shackling of political, trade union and association liberties that is taking place in Morocco.

The Red and Black Coordination denounces the holding of this political trial, on January 25, 2017, and demands the immediate dismissal of charges against Maati Monjib, Hicham Mansouri Abdessamad Ait Aicha, Hisham Khrinchi , Sber Mohamed Rachid Tarik and Maria Moukrim !

The Red and Black Coordination also demands the immediate release of all political prisoners held in Moroccan jails !

We call on union and political organizations and associations and comrades to express their support for the 7 accused militants by sending en masse a letter by mail or by fax to the Moroccan authorities (sample letter below with mail contacts and fax ) requesting the dismissal of charges against them.

A petition of support committee was also put online, and you can sign here :
https://secure.avaaz.org/fr/petition/Premier_Ministre_du_Maroc_Ministre_de_la_Justice_Ministre_de_linterieur_Abandon_des_charges_retenues_a_lencontre_des_sep/?pv=10

We also call on our comrades and fellow journalists and their unions or professional organization, to liaise with the support committee in order to keep informed of the situation, and of the trial, and to share information. Contact the support committee : solidaritemonjib gmail.com.

A Blow to One is a Blow to All !
International Solidarity !

Paris, 23th January 2017

The Red and Black Coordination,
Confederation General del Trabajo (CGT-E) - Spain
Confédération Nationale du Travail (CNT-F) – France
Libertarian Syndicalist Union (ESE) - Greece
Inicjatywa Pracownicza (IP) - Poland
Union Sindicale Italiana (USI) -Italia
Solidaridad Obrera (SO) – Spain
Svensk Arbetaren Centralorganisation (SAC) – Sweden.

MODEL LETTER TO BE SENT TO THE AUTHORITIES :

(When you write to the authorities, please add the address of the Support Committee, solidaritemonjib gmail.com, so that we can keep track of your support.)

→ Subject line :
TRIAL OF JANUARY 25 TPI RABAT / IMMEDIATE CANCELLATION OF PROSECUTION FOR 7 JOURNALISTS AND HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS !

→ Text :
" (City / Country, ... / ... / 2017)
(... Your name or the name of your organization, association...)

We demand the immediate cancellation of proceedings against Maati Monjib, Hicham Mansouri Abdessamad Ait Aicha, Hisham Khrinchi, Sber Mohamed Rachid Tarik and Maria Moukrim, standing trial this Wednesday, January 25, 2017 at the Trinubal of First Instance, Rabat.
We express our solidarity with the seven Human Rights activists and journalists who have been accused of serious offences by your authorities, including that of "endangering state security", simply for having participated in the defense of free and independent investigative journalism.
We denounce the barriers against freedom of the press and expression, as well as violations of political, trade union and association freedoms in Morocco today, and demand the release of all political prisoners in Moroccan jails ! "

CONTACTS OF MOROCCAN AUTHORITIES :

→ To faciliate simple “copying and pasting”, here is a list of email contacts :

courrier pm.gov.ma, ministere maec.gov.ma, ccdh ccdh.org.ma, mission.maroc ties.itu.int, mission.maroc skynet.be, info amb-maroc.fr, cons.bastia maec.gov.ma, consumab2 wanadoo.fr, cgmaroc.colombes gmail.com, cgrm.dijon maec.gov.ma, consumalille maec.gov.ma, cons.mars wanadoo.fr, consumamontp wanadoo.fr, consulatorleans maec.gov.ma, cgm.orly maec.gov.ma, cgm.pontoise maec.gov.ma, consumarenne wanadoo.fr, consumastras noos.fr, consulatgeneraltoulouse gmail.com, consulatmaroclyon maec.gov.ma

 Prime Minister Fax : +212 37 76 99 95/37 76 86 56. Email : courrier pm.gov.ma
 Minister of Foreign Affairs and Co-operation. fax : +212 - 37-76-55-08 / 37-76-46-79. Email : ministere maec.gov.ma
 Justice Ministry. Fax : +212 37 72 68 56. Email : ccdh ccdh.org.ma
 Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United Nations Office at Geneva and other International Organizations in Switzerland Fax : + (41) 022 791 81 80. Email : mission.maroc ties.itu.int
 Ambassador of Morocco Mission to the European Union. Phone : +32 26263410 / 26263414. Email : mission.maroc skynet.be
 Ambassy of Morocco Paris. Fax : (0033) - 01 45 20 22 58. Email : info amb-maroc.fr
 Consulate General Bastia. Fax 04 95 30 71 86. Email : cons.bastia maec.gov.ma
 Consulate General Bordeaux. Fax 05 56 42 02 75. Email : consumab2 wanadoo.fr
 Consulate General Colombes. Fax : 00 (33) 1 56 83 85 54 Email : cgmaroc.colombes gmail.com
 Consulate General Dijon. Fax : 00 (33) 3 80 55 26 21 E-mail : cgrm.dijon maec.gov.ma
 Consulate General Lille. Fax : 03 20 15 12 31. Email : consumalille maec.gov.ma
 Consulate General Marseille. Fax : 04 91 50 86 09. Email : cons.mas warnadoo.fr
 Consulate General Montpellier. Fax : 04 67 06 88 33. Email : consumamontp wanadoo.fr
 Consulate General Orleans. Fax : 00 (33) 2 38 25 95 17 E-mail : consulatorleans maec.gov.ma
 Consulate General Orly. Fax : 01 48 53 66 97. Email : cgm.orly maec.gov.ma
 Consulate General Pontoise. Fax : 00 (33) 1 30 30 11 47 E-mail : cgm.pontoise maec.gov.ma
 Consulate General Rennes. Fax : 00 (33) 2 99 36 99 31 E-mail : consumarenne wanadoo.fr
 Consulate General Strasbourg. Fax 03 88 35 68 51. Email : consumastras noos.fr
 Consulate General Toulouse. Fax : 05 62 47 04 00 E-mail : consulatgeneraltoulouse gmail.com
 Consulate General Lyon. Fax : 00 (33) 4 72 36 89 46 E-mail : consulatmaroclyon maec.gov.ma