As another hearing is scheduled for today to try Nasser Zefzafi and other Hirak activists in Casablanca, they have started a hunger strike yesterday. The prison administration's response was to put the detainees in single cells. Announced on Sunday, Hirak detainees tried in Casablanca have started a hunger strike on Monday, 25th of December, to protest against intimidation they claimed having been subjected to. As a response, the Oukacha prison administration decided to single-cell all the strikers. The information was first shared on Social Media and most precisely on Twitter. Contacted by Yabiladi, Naima El Gallaf, a lawyer and member of the Hirak defense committee, confirmed that the detainees «have started a hunger strike yesterday as a form of protesting. The prison authorities transferred them to single cells, as a response, without justifying why». Speaking to Yabiladi, lawyer Abdessadek El Bouchtaoui explained that the abovementioned measure is «probably employed as a form of punishment for the detainees. Indeed, the decision was taken after they have informed the prison administration that they are planning to start a hunger strike». Meanwhile, the Oukacha Prison Administration, the Regional Prison Services, the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation, the Public Prosecutor's Office, the royal prosecutor and the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), were all informed of their decision. Heated hearings In addition to the intimidation they are protesting against in their own way, Nasser Zefzafi alongside other Hirak detainees want to show support for one the Hirak detainees, who has been deprived of family visits, according to the lawyer. These events occurred on the eve of the hearing scheduled for Tuesday at the Casablanca Appeal Court. Last week's hearing was marked by an angry exchange between the prosecutor and the defense, who criticized the court for «neglecting the activists' allegations showing that they have been subject to torture during their arrest». Tension is on the rise between the two parties, namely lawyers and the court, especially as the prosecutor «has denied these allegations without opening an investigation», said El Bouchtaoui. He told Yabiladi that he is planning to boycott today's hearing «to show support for the detainees and until the court investigates the torture allegations».
