A demonstration in support of Hirak, a protest movement that has been ongoing for eight months in the Rif region, in northern Morocco, was violently repressed July 9 in Morocco’s capital, Rabat.
Although they were prevented by police forces from gathering in front of the parliament, demonstrators chanted slogans and called for the release of dozens of activists arrested in the Rif region, including Sylia Ziani, a 23-year-old singer currently detained at the Oukacha prison in Casablanca. In recent weeks, several protests expressing solidarity with the Hirak movement have been brutally dispersed throughout the country.