The movement “Moroccan Outlaws” launched the campaign on social networks to denounce article 222 of Morocco’s Penal Code, which criminalizes publicly eating or drinking during Ramadan fasting hours.
The online campaign came after police arrested dozens of people who were spotted eating during daytime in Ramadan in a Casablanca café this week.
The hashtag #Stop222 is currently viral on social media. Citizens have massively expressed their outrage at the mass arrest, reviving demands for the abolishment of Article 222 of the Penal Code.
“Why are these groups publicly deprived of breaking the fast when Islam considers that they have a legitimate excuse? Is it reasonable to require documents to prove this in all these cases?” said Chakib El Khyari, a human rights activist, in a Facebook post.
“It should be noted that breaking the fast during fasting hours in Ramadan is not criminalized by the Penal Code if there is a credible justification,” he added.
The government, on the other hand, said that the arrest raffle at a Casablanca cafe yesterday “was respectful and respected judicial norms.”
Following the mass arrest, sources confirmed that all detainees have been released.
Government Spokesperson Mustapha Baitas implicitly denied testimonials claiming women were obliged to prove menstruation, saying that the arrests and interviews performed by police officials were carried out “in a humane and respectful manner.”
Morocco’s Penal Code states, in article 222 that, “a person commonly known to be Muslim who violates the fast in a public place during Ramadan, without having one of the justifications allowed by Islam, shall be punished by one to six months of prison and a fine of 12 to 120 Moroccan Dirhams.”
Similar to previous years, Ramadan comes with a heated debate about individual freedoms in Morocco.
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