Ten students at the Ibn Tofail University in Kenitra, Morocco were arrested on 2 November 2014 for participating in demonstrations against a ticket price increase for buses transporting students from their dorms to campus.
This article was originally published on anhri.org on 5 November 2014.
On 2 November 2014, Moroccan police officers in plainclothes arrested 10 students outside the Ibn Tofail university in the city of Kenitra.
The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI) has denounced the arrest which took place against the backdrop of the dispersal of a peaceful protest organised by a number of university students in objection to the increase in the price of bus tickets. The buses in question transport students from their dorms to the campus and back. Moroccan authorities decided, on 5 November, to refer the detained students to the prosecution.
Since the start of the academic year, Ibn Tofail University has been witnessing a series of student protests lashing out against the “Al-Karama” company which increased bus ticket prices.
“The Moroccan authorities’ use of violence, their dispersal of peaceful protests by force and the students’ arrests are deemed a flagrant violation of freedom of expression,” stated ANHRI. “Instead of finding a solution for the problem caused by the company, the Moroccan authorities targeted the students instead.”
ANHRI demands that all detained students are released and that their freedoms and safety are ensured.
