By DPA
Rabat : More than 100 members of a large Moroccan Islamist movement went on trial Thursday in the northern city of Nador, a spokesman for the movement said.
The court had refused to grant the 107 members of al-Adl w’al-Ihsane (Justice and Spirituality) provisional freedom.
The members of the illegal but so far tolerated, non-violent movement had been detained over the weekend after attending non-authorized meetings and rallies, including demonstrations in favour of the Palestinian cause, in several cities, the daily El-Massae reported.
Most of the arrests were made in Nador and in Sidi Yahya Gharb south of the capital Rabat.
Observers said the regime of King Mohammed VI had launched in May 2006 a crackdown on al-Adl w’al-Ihsane, regarded by many as Morocco’s largest political movement, to prevent it from spreading its ideas in mosques and elsewhere.
The movement headed by Sheikh Abdessalam Yassine, which does not contest elections, is the only one in Morocco to have openly criticized the monarchy.