Statement by the Families of Martyrs Dridi and Belhouari on the 40th Anniversary of Their Martyrdom

As Tuesday and Wednesday, August 27th and 28th, 2024, approach, forty years (40 years) will have passed since the martyrdom of our sons M. Boubker Driydi and Mustapha Belhouari, after the indefinite hunger strike undertaken by the political prisoners of the 1984 Marrakech group in defense of their dignity and for just and legitimate demands(…).

This anniversary comes upon us, the families of the martyrs, their comrades, and all activists, reminding us, and all the honorable people of this nation, of the sacrifice of the martyrs and their companions, the resilience of the Marrakech group and other political prisoners and their families, in the face of the most severe human rights violations, which constituted systematic practices to stifle freedoms and deny the popular aspirations for a Morocco of freedom, dignity, democracy, and social justice, a Morocco of humanity and full citizenship for all.

We, the families of the martyrs, Mustapha Belhouari and M. Boubker Driydi, as we commemorate forty years since their assassination and disappearance, declare the following:

• Congratulations to all recently released political prisoners and their families.
• Our full solidarity with the remaining political prisoners and their families, with a demand for their immediate release.
• We reiterate our demand to put an end to all forms of despotism and political repression; for a Morocco of freedom, democracy, and social justice, a Morocco of human rights for all, for which the martyrs sacrificed their lives.
• We reaffirm our appreciation and full commitment to the efforts of the democratic human rights movement, and its ongoing struggle to put a final end to the grave human rights violations in our country, to uncover the complete truth about these dark cases, and to protect our society politically, legally, and in terms of human rights, to prevent their recurrence.
• We extend our highest greetings to the resilient Palestinian people who face genocide at the hands of the Zionist machine and its racist colonial state, and we bow to their great sacrifices that forge the most epic struggles in defense of human dignity. We pledge to remain loyal to the martyrs and all the martyrs of our people, to honor their precious memory, and to continue on their path until all the noble goals for which they sacrificed their lives are achieved.

On behalf of the families of the martyrs, Driydi Moulay Boubker and Belhouari Mustapha
August 26, 2024