Morocco

Solidarity with microcredit’s victims in Ouarzazate city (south of Morocco)

13 February 2014 by ATTAC/CADTM Morocco


Press release

Unjust conviction of Amina Morad and Benacer Ismaïni, 2 activists of the Association for Defending Victims of microcredit in Ouarzazate :

  • 1 year in prison and a fine of 30000 MAD and 10000 MAD for Inmaa a microcredit organization as compensation.
  • The convicted activists have 10 days to lodge an appeal.


The trial of Amina Morad and Benasser Ismaïni , the two activists of the Association for Defending of microcredit Victims was held on Tuesday 11th February 11, 2014 under a heavy police presence.

At 9:30 am, the judge, came especially from Rabat the capital, quickly pronounced the verdict and called one year in prison and a fine of 30,000 MAD each and 10,000 MAD as compensation for microcredit organization INMAA.
Many Microcredit Victims came demonstrated early this morning before the Court of Ouarzazate, showing their solidarity with their leaders.

Amina Morad and Benasser Ismaïni have 10 days to appeal against this unjust judgment:

While witnesses are not presented and the lawyer of INMAA, the microcredit organization that had filed a complaint, did not appear in court during the 28th January session.

While defense lawyers presented evidence of abuses and excesses of the microcredit system (especially as regards the usurers interest rates Interest rates When A lends money to B, B repays the amount lent by A (the capital) as well as a supplementary sum known as interest, so that A has an interest in agreeing to this financial operation. The interest is determined by the interest rate, which may be high or low. To take a very simple example: if A borrows 100 million dollars for 10 years at a fixed interest rate of 5%, the first year he will repay a tenth of the capital initially borrowed (10 million dollars) plus 5% of the capital owed, i.e. 5 million dollars, that is a total of 15 million dollars. In the second year, he will again repay 10% of the capital borrowed, but the 5% now only applies to the remaining 90 million dollars still due, i.e. 4.5 million dollars, or a total of 14.5 million dollars. And so on, until the tenth year when he will repay the last 10 million dollars, plus 5% of that remaining 10 million dollars, i.e. 0.5 million dollars, giving a total of 10.5 million dollars. Over 10 years, the total amount repaid will come to 127.5 million dollars. The repayment of the capital is not usually made in equal instalments. In the initial years, the repayment concerns mainly the interest, and the proportion of capital repaid increases over the years. In this case, if repayments are stopped, the capital still due is higher…

The nominal interest rate is the rate at which the loan is contracted. The real interest rate is the nominal rate reduced by the rate of inflation.
that are charged.

While testimonies from microcredit’s victims multiply and the movement against the abuse of microcredit organizations grows in several regions,

This ruling with many flaws comes to shows how “Justice” defends banking organizations that are above the laws and aggravate the poverty of their so-called “beneficiaries” and condemns the victims and their supporters.

There is no doubt with so heavily condemning of Amina and Benasser the “under order” justice aims to scare victims and break their movement.

We call for a wider national and international solidarity for justice for Amina and Benasser and all microcredit’s victims, and to publicize abuses microcredit organizations and the struggle of their victims :

- Against the criminalization of the struggle of microcredit’s victims

- For outright acquittal of Amina Morad and Benasser Ismaïni

 Reminder: four microcredit organizations who had complained against Amina Morad and Benasser Ismaïni for fraud , defamation and threats had withdrawn their complaint and two activists were cleared at the trial in the first instance. But a new organization, INMAA linked to the NGO AMSED and “Planet Finance” has raised the matter on appeal. The Prosecutor had requested the maximum sentence: five years in prison for Amina Morad and Benasser Ismaïni in the Court of Appeal in Ouarzazate at the 3rd session of the trial on the 12th November 2013.

 ATTAC / CADTM MOROCCO

February 11, 2014

Ci-dessous vous pouvez consulter un témoignage des deux inculpés

Clic


ATTAC/CADTM Morocco

membre du réseau CADTM, l’Association pour la Taxation des Transactions en Aide aux Citoyens au Maroc (ATTAC Maroc) a été créée en 2000. ATTAC Maroc est membre du réseau international du Comité pour l’annulation de la dette du tiers monde (CADTM) depuis 2006 (devenu Comité pour l’abolition des dettes illégitimes depuis juin 2016). Nous comptons 11 groupes locaux au Maroc. ATTAC veut être un réseau aidant à l’appropriation par les acteurs engagés dans l’activité sociale, associative, syndicale et plus largement militante des enjeux de la mondialisation sur les problématiques de résistance sociale et citoyenne.
www.attacmaroc.org
http://arabic.cadtm.org/

Adresse : n°140, rue Cadi Bribri Akkari 10000. Rabat. Maroc
Email : attac.cadtm.maroc at gmail.com
Site Web attacmaroc.org Tel 00 212 6 61 17 30 39

Translation(s)

CADTM

COMMITTEE FOR THE ABOLITION OF ILLEGITIMATE DEBT

8 rue Jonfosse
4000 - Liège- Belgique

00324 60 97 96 80
info@cadtm.org

cadtm.org