Eighteen Senegalese football supporters detained in Morocco after last month’s Africa Cup of Nations final are staging an intermittent fast, their lawyer said Saturday.
The clarification followed official denials from Moroccan prosecutors, who insisted the detainees were receiving regular meals inside Rabat’s prison system.
The fans were arrested on January 18, the day Senegal defeated hosts Morocco 1–0 in a tense and controversial AFCON final.
Authorities accused the group of hooliganism after chaotic scenes erupted in the final minutes of the match.
According to lawyer Patrick Kabou, the detainees initially described their protest as a continuous fast demanding a chance to be heard by judges.
He later уточ clarified that the men were eating breakfast only, using limited fasting to oppose prolonged pre-trial detention.
A judicial source said prison officials reported seven detainees skipped lunch on Friday but later obtained food independently.
The same source added the group later ate dinner together in the prison cafeteria, contradicting claims of a full hunger strike.
Kabou said his clients remain uncertain about the precise charges they face weeks after their arrest.
Tensions flared during the final when Senegalese players stopped play for nearly twenty minutes to protest a late Moroccan penalty.
Some Senegal supporters attempted to storm the pitch, while others threw objects, including a chair, onto the field.
The case has been repeatedly delayed, leaving the detainees in legal limbo amid mounting diplomatic and public scrutiny.
An initial court hearing in late January was postponed at the request of defence lawyers.
A second hearing this week was adjourned again due to a nationwide lawyers’ strike, with proceedings expected to resume next week.