The trial of the 24 defendants prosecuted in connection with the events related to the dismantling of the Gdeim Izik camp resumed on Friday morning at the military court in Rabat, with the holding of the 2nd hearing.

These individuals were arrested following their involvement in these events dating back to October-November 2010.

The 24 individuals are prosecuted for "forming criminal gangs, violence against law enforcement officers resulting in death with premeditation, and mutilation of corpses".

Before the opening of this hearing of the trial, which began last Friday, the Coordination of Families and Friends of the Victims of the Gdeim Izik Events (COFAV) organised a peaceful sit-in in front of the court to demand "a fair trial", while denouncing any attempt at political instrumentalisation of this file. COFAV reaffirmed, through slogans, its rejection of any intervention likely to influence justice and distributed a statement in which it spoke out against the infringement of its rights as a representative of the families of the victims of the Gdeim Izik events.

For their part, the families of the accused demanded, during a peaceful sit-in, that the trial be held in a civil court.

On 10 October 2010, residents of the city of Laâyoune set up a tent camp near the city, at a place called Gdeim Izik, in order to defend legitimate social demands, mainly related to housing and employment. The Moroccan authorities had then initiated a dialogue and presented a series of measures to respond progressively to these demands, which dialogue had not led to a resolution of the situation on the ground. The Moroccan authorities had decided to proceed with the peaceful dismantling of the camp in order to enforce the law and preserve public order.

This intervention immediately gave rise to violent attacks by small groups against law enforcement officers using bladed weapons, stone-throwing, Molotov cocktails, and gas canisters. Subsequently, clashes broke out in the city of Laâyoune where public infrastructure and property were set on fire and private property was ransacked. These attacks resulted in 11 deaths among law enforcement officers, including one member of the Civil Protection, 70 injured among these same forces, several of whom were seriously wounded, and four others injured among civilians.

It should also be recalled that this trial is taking place under the observation of several human rights associations, NGOs, and independent national and international organisations.