An Islamist prisoner, accused of involvement in the 2003 Casablanca bombings, has died in a Moroccan prison on hunger strike, al-Jazeera reports. The unidentified man died in Autaita prison in the city of Sidi Qasim, where about 1,000 inmates, members of the so-called Salafia Jihadia organisation, had staged a hunger strike. The strikers deny involvement in the bombings and say they have been tortured. Abu Usama, a prisoner in Autaita jail, told Aljazeera the prisoners were demanding the Moroccan authorities open an investigation into rights violations they faced in Morocco’s prisons and jails, including being made to sign confessions under threat of torture.
“One of the prisoners has died,” Abu Usama said. “The prison has claimed the soul of this man who has been detained unfairly. We hold those who detained us unfairly responsible for his death.” (Al-Jazeera, May 10)
For more on the Casablanca bombings, see WW4 REPORT #87
