We ask you to contact the Members of the European Parliament to intervene in favour of the liberation of Chakib El Khayari

You can use the following letter. See below for a list of adresses of members of the European Parliament Delegation with Morocco.

Dear Member of the European Parliament,

I request your urgent action concerning the case of Chakib El Khayari, president of the Human Rights Association of the Rif region in Morocco.

Currently, Chakib El Khayari is detained in solitude in the prison of Oukacha in Casablanca.

In June 2009, he has been condemned to three years of prison for having “offended authorities and made unauthorised financial transactions” .

Prior to his detention in February 2009, El Khayari has made several declarations in the international media and in conferences in Europe, questioning the efforts of Moroccan authorities in the fight against illegal drugs from Morocco to Spain.

Chakib El Khayari is known throughout the world for his defense of the cultural rights of the Amazigh people and the African migrants who travel through the region on a daily basis, on their way to Europe. He is also known for his declarations with regards to the level of corruption, arbitrarity and impunity in the services that are engaged in the fight against drugs in Morocco.

Chakib El Khayari has participated in several events that were organised by associations representing European civil society. Among others ENCOD (European Coalition for Just and Effective Drug Policies) had invited him to participate in a debate in the European Parliament in March 2009, and to the High Level meeting on Drugs at the UNO in Vienna, Austria, in the same month.

We suggest you to do whatever may contribute to put pressure on the Moroccan authorities so that Chakib El Khayari is liberated as soon as possible. This can be the following:

1. Send a letter to the Moroccan King , if possible with the support of
more MEPs. You can find an example here

2. Ask questions to the European Commission, Directorate External Relations, that could be formulated as follows:

Does the Commission share the concern with the fate of Mr. Chakib
El-Khayari, president of the human rights association of the Rif region,
Morocco, who has been held in detention since 17 february 2009, after he had made statements on the corruption of Moroccan agencies engaged in the fight against drug trafficking in the region of Nador, Morocco?

Does the Commission agree that, to establish effective and sustainable policies both concerning the cultivation of cannabis and drug trafficking and for the development of democracy in Morocco, it is fundamental that opinions such as those from Mr. El-Khayari and other legitimate representatives of the affected populations are heard?

Does the Commission agree that the detention of El Khayari represent a serious violation of the freedom of speech, a human right that should be garantueed in any democracy?

Which are the concrete steps that the Commission considers taking in order to transmit to the Moroccan government its concern with the persecution of Chakib El Khayari and to ensure his physical integrity and immediate liberation?

Thanks very much for your urgent attention to this matter.

Best wishes

List of Members of the European Parliament Delegation with Morocco:

Sonia ALFANO, Italy

Malika BENARAB-ATTOU, France

Kriton ARSENIS, Greece

Frederic DAERDEN, Belgium

Jacqueline FOSTER, United Kingdom

Salvador GARRIGA POLLEDO, Spain

Salvatore IACOLINO, Italy

Alfredo PALLONE, Italy

Pier PANZERI, Italy

Vincent PEILLON, France

Miguel PORTAS, Portugal

Cristian Dan PREDA, Rumania

Robert ROCHEFORT, France

Carmen ROMERO LOPEZ, Spain

Sergio SILVESTRIS, Italy

Ernst STRASSER, Austria

Marie-Christine VERGIAT, France

Dominique VLASTO, France

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