29 November 2012
Mohamed Chamchati Freed: ITF Comment
Mohamed Chamchati, the unjustly detained general secretary of the Moroccan merchant seafarers’ union, has been released.
Like his colleague Said Elhairech, who was freed in October, Chamchati had been arrested in June on clearly mistaken
charges linked to the cessation of operations of the Comarit-Comanav company. Yesterday he and others were released
without charge.
Welcoming the release ITF general secretary David Cockroft stated: “We are gratified to see that the judicial
authorities have finally come to their senses and realised that planning trade union action in defence of members’ jobs
is no threat to the security of Morocco. We were very pleased that Said Elhairech was released just after our maritime
meetings in Casablanca and was able to join our executive in Copenhagen, and we have continued to work behind the scenes
for Mohamed Chamchati to receive the same treatment. We are very happy to see him free.”
ITF president Paddy Crumlin commented: “Mohamed’s supporters in Morocco will join all the dockers, seafarers and other
transport workers and their unions internationally who have worked for his release, in welcoming this move. Like Said he
was detained for nothing more than protecting jobs, a role that it falls to the Moroccan government to protect and
defend. As with Said’s release, this is a good day for trade unionism and international solidarity.”
For the background to both cases please see www.itfglobal.org/solidarity/Said-Elhairech.cfm
ENDS