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On June 2, 2023, Endangered Scholars Worldwide learned that Dr. Maâti Monjib, who is a political analyst, human rights activist, and historian, was suspended without pay from his position at the University of Mohammed V in Rabat, Morocco. He is also the coordinator of the Middle East Citizens’ Assembly (MECA) Morocco branch, founder and director of the Ibn Rochd Center for Studies and Communication in Rabat, and a founding member of the 20 February Movement Support Council, an initiative which sought legal and institutional reform in Morocco during the Arab Spring. Dr. Monjib was abducted and unlawfully incarcerated for three months in 2020, and was provisionally released in 2021, in response to the international pressure on human rights violations in the country. His provisional release included the confiscation of his assets and passport.
Endangered Scholars Worldwide deeply condemns the illegal and illegitimate restriction of mobility and right to work of scholars, students, and researchers in Morocco. We call upon the Moroccan authorities to end their mistreatment of Maati Monjib and others who were unlawfully incarcerated or persecuted, to reinstate Dr. Monjib to his faculty position, and lift the restrictions on his rights to gainful employment, scholarly research, international travel, and civic activities. We join the MESA community in support of Dr. Monjib.
For more, please see the MESA letter here.