Jakarta Globe - AFP, August 4, 2013
Rabat. Moroccans furious over the pardon of a Spanish pedophile convicted of raping 11 children aged between four and 15, are planning more protests as the king on Saturday announced an investigation into his release.
A protester bleeds during a demonstration against a royal pardon for a Spanish pedophile, in Rabat late August 2, 2013. (Reuters Photo) |
Rabat. Moroccans furious over the pardon of a Spanish pedophile convicted of raping 11 children aged between four and 15, are planning more protests as the king on Saturday announced an investigation into his release.
Social
media sites have called for fresh protests in Casablanca and Rabat next week
after baton-wielding police dispersed demonstrations on Friday.
Daniel
Galvan Vina, said to be in his 60s, was pardoned by King Mohammed VI and freed
on Tuesday from jail in Kenitra, north of the capital.
He had been
sentenced in September 2011 to 30 years in prison.
Galvan was
among 48 Spanish prisoners released in response to a request from Spanish King
Juan Carlos, who visited Morocco in mid-July, the justice ministry said.
But royal
palace said in a statement carried on Morocco’s official MAP news agency that
the king had been unaware of the nature of Galvan’s crimes and had ordered a
probe into his release.
The
investigation should “determine the responsibilities and the failures that led
to this regrettable release,” the statement said.
“The king
was never informed — in any way or at any time — of the seriousness of the
abject crimes of which the person concerned was convicted,” the palace added.
“It is
clear that the sovereign would never have consented” to his release, given the
“monstrous crimes” committed, the statement concluded.
Galvan is
thought to have already left the country.
The
incident has sparked outrage in the north African country, which has seen
several high-profile pedophile arrests in recent months.
On Friday
night, baton-wielding police dispersed several thousand people who tried to
protest in front of the parliament in Rabat.
Dozens were
injured, including reporters and news photographers, and some had to be
hospitalised.
Others were
held outside the Moroccan embassy in Paris on Saturday and in Kenitra, where
the man had been held.
Police also
broke up demonstrations in Tanger and Tetouan.
Protesters
slammed the pardon as “an international shame” with one demonstrator saying the
state “defends the rape of Moroccan children.”
One young
woman student told AFP: “This is the first time I have been to a demonstration
because I am outraged by this pardon which has set this pedophile free.”
Hakim
Sikouk, who also took part in the Rabat protest, told AFP: “I was with a group
of friends in front of the parliament when the police intervened violently. I
was hit on the head.”
In June,
thousands of Moroccans marched in Casablanca to condemn pedophilia and violence
against children in the north African country.
On June 20,
police arrested a suspected British pedophile after local residents overheard
screams from a six-year-old girl he allegedly abducted.
And in May,
a Casablanca court jailed a 60-year-old Frenchman for 12 years after convicting
him of pedophilia.
Abdelali
Hamieddine, a senior member of the ruling moderate Islamist Party of Justice
and Development, said the pardon was a “mistake.”
“Moroccans
have the right to demonstrate when they feel humiliated and the authorities do
not have the right to step in so violently,” he added.
Agence France-Presse
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