Morocco’s Public Prosecutor in Casablanca Hassan Matar has ordered on Monday an investigation into the leaking of a video of Nasser Zafzafi, the leading Hirak (protest movement in Rif region), currently under detention in Oukacha prison in Casablanca.
“The Public Prosecution has ordered the opening of a detailed investigation to establish the truth and determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting of the video and the reasons behind publishing it,” said the release.
The videos was published on Monday by Barlamane, a website that has been in the heart of a controversy after publishing leaked documents of a report of by the National Council for Human Rights (CNDH) about the council’s investigation into allegations made by several Rif detainees who said they had been tortured by police during their arrest and detention.
In the leaked video, Zafzafi is seen showing his bare arms, legs, chest and back.
The video was seen by Zafzafi’ supporters as an attempt by the people who shot the clip to claim that the detained activist was not subjected to torture.
The clip, which was widely circulated on social media, stirred an uproar in Morocco with many Moroccan social media users denouncing it and describing it as “degrading and attacking the human dignity” of the leader of the protests.
