HIBAPRESS – Taounate
The city of Tissa in the Taounate province witnessed tension today, Saturday, September 27th, after the prevention of a protest called for by several forces from the region known to the authorities, to express their dissatisfaction with the conditions of the health and education sectors in the province.
The protest, which was scheduled to be held in front of a public square, witnessed an intervention by the local authorities, led by a governor of the prefecture, accompanied by elements of the auxiliary forces, in order to disperse the protesters and prevent the gathering. However, the incident took another turn, after what journalists described as "unjustified abuse" against national media outlets that were covering the event, where the representatives of the authority confiscated their journalistic equipment and prevented them from performing their duties for a period of time, in a clear violation of the provisions of the constitution and the law regulating journalism and publishing, which guarantees freedom of journalistic work and the right of citizens to access information. This behavior has provoked the condemnation of a number of human rights and media activists, who demanded the opening of an urgent investigation into what they described as "violations affecting freedom of the press and expression," calling for respect for the legal and constitutional controls that ensure the right to peaceful demonstration and the practice of the journalistic profession without restriction or threat. On the other hand, the local authorities in the Taounate province have not yet issued any official clarification regarding the circumstances of what happened or the reasons for the ban, at a time when local and national public opinion is awaiting clarification on the legality of the measures that were taken during the intervention.
