(AFP) RABAT — Hundreds of Moroccan magistrates held a sit-in on Saturday outside the Court of Cassation in Rabat demanding an end to corruption in the judicial system, an AFP photographer reported.
In the first such action of its kind in Morocco since Arab Spring protests erupted across the region, some 800 magistrates from across the country gathered outside Morocco’s highest court waving banners.
“Justice without corruption,” and “We demand the independence of the judiciary,” some of them read, while others called for an “urgent improvement” in the working conditions of magistrates, as promised by King Mohammed VI.
Since early last year, Morocco has witnessed sporadic social unrest, spearheaded by the February 20 protest movement demanding action on a wide range of social grievances and calling in particular for an end to corruption.
The king has vowed to press ahead with reforms, including strengthening the judiciary’s independence and battling corruption, after constitutional changes he introduced last year in a bid to contain the Arab Spring-style protests.
But frustration remains over the slow pace of reform and ongoing corruption, with hundreds of activists frequently taking to the streets of Morocco’s main cities to call for change.
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