A young Moroccan died after setting himself on fire in protest at the seizure of his cart by officers from a small town near Casablanca, his family was told on Monday.
Read also: Covid-19: Morocco advances its curfew and restricts travel
Yassine Lekhmidi, 25, an informal passenger transporter, died on Saturday in a hospital in Casablanca, the economic capital of the country "
as a result of his injuries,
" his brother Ahmed Lekhmidi told AFP.
Silence of the authorities and demonstrations
The young man set himself on fire on July 28 in front of the town of Sidi Bennour to protest against the “
unjust
”
seizure
of his cart but also because “
he told us that he had suffered violence from the authorities
” , said the brother.
Read also: Morocco: a man immolates himself in front of a French consulate
No reaction to this case could be obtained immediately from the authorities.
The family of the young transporter "
demands the opening of an investigation
", added the brother.
Several hundred people demonstrated late Monday in Sidi Bennour demanding that "
justice be done to Yassine
", according to a video broadcast by local media.
Morocco has experienced cases of self-immolation in recent years, as a final gesture of protest by economically vulnerable people and working mostly in the informal sector, which represents 30% of GDP, according to estimates by the central bank of Morocco. .
National and international reports often warn about the social disparities in the country and the need to integrate the informal sector into the national economic fabric.
The health crisis linked to the coronavirus has worsened the situation, widening "
deeply the inequalities
", according to a recent study by the Moroccan Institute of Statistics (HCP).
