RABAT, July 15 (Xinhua) -- Thousands of Moroccans rallied in the capital Rabat on Sunday showing support for jailed activists over Rif protests.
Led by Morocco's largest opposition Islamist movement Adl Wal Ihsan (Justice and Spirituality) and several smaller leftist opposition parties, the demonstrators strongly denounced the sentence of 53 protesters to up to 20 years in prison over the protest that rocked the north-eastern region of the kingdom in late 2016.
The families of the convicts and their lawyers were also present in the march that saw the raising of portraits of the prisoners as well as the chanting of slogans criticizing the sentences and calling for freedom for the prisoners.
This march comes after another one in Casablanca last week and a number of smaller protests and sit-ins staged in several cities, including Rabat, Casablanca and Hoceima, the epicenter of the north eastern protest movement.
After a long hesitation, the majority of the convicts have decided to appeal against the ruling that sentenced Nasser Zefzafi, figurehead of the protest movement, along with three other leaders, to imprisonment for 20 years.
Another 49 people were sentenced to jail in terms of 15 years, along with fines, by the Casablanca Court.
The severest charge among the convicts was undermining public order and threatening national unity.
The protest movement was sparked in October 2016, when fish vendor Mouhcine Fikri was crushed to death after climbing into a rubbish lorry to retrieve his swordfish confiscated by police.
Demanding justice for Fikri evolved into a grassroots movement, requiring greater government investment and more jobs for several months.
