Christine Daure-Serfaty (1926 – 28 May 2014) was a

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

human rights activist A human rights defender or human rights activist is a person who, individually or with others, acts to promote or protect human rights. They can be journalists, environmentalists, whistleblowers, trade unionists, lawyers, teachers, housing campai ...

and writer who was involved in the opposition to

King Hassan II Hassan II (; 9 July 1929 – 23 July 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999. A member of the Alawi dynasty, he was the eldest son of King Mohammed V of Morocco, Mohammed V, and his second wife Princess Lalla Abla ...

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

, during the "

Years of Lead Years of Lead is a phrase used in several countries to refer to periods of history marked by military repression, political violence or terrorism. Years of lead may refer to: Historical periods * Years of Lead (Brazil), period of state violence ...

". She was the wife of Abraham Serfaty, a Moroccan

dissident A dissident is a person who actively challenges an established political or religious system, doctrine, belief, policy, or institution. In a religious context, the word has been used since the 18th century, and in the political sense since the 2 ...

. In 1974 Abraham Serfaty was sentenced to life imprisonment. It was in September 1999 that the new Moroccan king, Mohammed VI, permitted Abraham Serfaty’s return to Morocco.

Biography

Christine Daure arrived in Morocco in 1962. In 1972, in

Casablanca Casablanca (, ) is the largest city in Morocco and the country's economic and business centre. Located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Chaouia (Morocco), Chaouia plain in the central-western part of Morocco, the city has a populatio ...

, she hid two political dissidents wanted by the Moroccan police: Abraham Serfaty who ended up sentenced to life in prison in 1974, and

Abdellatif Zeroual Abdellatif Zeroual (1951 in Berrechid, Morocco14 November 1974 at " Derb Moulay Chérif" in Casablanca) was a philosophy teacher and member of the national committee of the " Ila Al Amame" movement. Abdellatif was the son of Haj Abdelkader Zerou ...

, who died under torture after his arrest. During these years, she fought to save Abraham Serfaty from the same fate. She finally obtained the right to marry him in jail in 1986 and settled in

Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ) is the Capital (political), capital city of Morocco and the List of cities in Morocco, country's seventh-largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan population of over 1.2 million. ...

. She was the first person to denounce the existence of the secret prison

Tazmamart Tazmamart () was a secret prison in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco holding political prisoners. The prison became a symbol of oppression in the political history of contemporary Morocco. It is located near the city of Er-Rich, between Errachid ...

, which was denied for years by the Moroccan authorities. The following year, the book "Notre ami le roi" ("Our friend the King") by Gilles Perrault, a book she helped to write though her name didn't appear, mentioned the prison at a political level, changing the image of Hassan II's regime in the western world and contributing to its evolution in the following years. Her husband Abraham Serfaty was released from jail in 1991, after seventeen years of imprisonment, torture and isolation, and was immediately expelled (to France). Christine Daure-Serfaty was also expelled, without any explanation, after being arrested and detained at a police station for one night. After eight years of exile and two months after Hassan II's death, in September 1999, the couple was authorized by King Mohamed VI of Morocco to return to Morocco. She was previously married to the French politician Pierre Aguiton, with whom she had a son Christophe Aguiton, a left-wing trade-unionist born in 1953, and a daughter, Lise Aguiton-Moro. Christine Daure-Serfaty died on 28 May 2014 in a hospital in Paris.

References

External links

Bibliomonde Amnesty International Report 1997
* Notre ami le roi {{DEFAULTSORT:Daure-Serfaty, Christine Human rights abuses in Morocco 1926 births 2014 deaths Politics of Morocco French expatriates in Morocco French human rights activists Women human rights activists French women writers

Biography

References

Further reading

External links