Ifrane authorities are refuting the claims of Otmane Barakat, a young entrepreneur who attempted suicide this weekend following what he called “the unjustified closure” of his local restaurant.
In a press release, the Ifrane municipality denied accusations of discrimination, unlawful suspension of the restaurant’s license, and ” accusations of arbitrariness and favoritism.”
Local authorities denied Barakat’s claims, saying they constitute “statements tainted with many inaccuracies, in which the person makes false accusations to the local authority in the Ifrane region.”
The matter, which has sparked outrage among Moroccans and resulted in a large social media solidarity campaign with young Barakat, “currently constitutes a matter of procedures before the judiciary,” said the municipality, adding that the young restauranteur’s claims had many “inaccuracies and erroneous facts.”
The statement explained that Barakat “was arrested during the month of March, when he was caught transporting meats of questionable origin, in disregard of health conditions and norms for transporting food goods intended for consumption.”
Accordingly, and on the instructions of the Public Prosecution, “a competent regional committee was summoned to inspect the restaurant to which these goods were directed,” continued the statement, adding that “the establishment was found to be in violation” of many sanitary and health norms.
“The lack of an exploitation license issued by the concerned collective interests, the lack of health and technical conditions, hygiene and safety conditions necessary to engage in this type of activity” were observed during the inspection, says the statement, in addition to “other violations related to the employment of workers without a permit.”
The statement highlighted that the seized food goods from both the car used by the Barakat and those found inside the restaurant were “posing a danger to the health of citizens.”
Authorities were constructed, under the supervision of the competent Public Prosecution, to destroy the goods, in accordance with the established procedures and modalities for such cases.
The municipality’s clarification on this case recounted accusations against Barakat that he himself made public on his Youtube channel, prior to his attempt on his life.
The young entrepreneur had denied all of the accusations claiming he was in violation of health and sanitary regulation, maintaining that the closure of his restaurant “was unjustified,” and that heavy, slow bureaucracy led him to bankruptcy.
Barakat recounted his altercations with law enforcement and local authorities in lengthy videos, detailing the aforementioned claims and refuting them to the public. The young man additionally shared unedited, hour-long surveillance camera footage showing the commission’s inspection of his kitchen, which he says proves that no violations were noted.
Currently, Barakat is under hospice care recovering from his shocking suicide attempt, which he was live streaming on his Facebook account, with a banner that read: “Ifrane authorities murdered me.”
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