A 26-year-old man has died in a fire in protest of authorities confiscating his car

His family was told Monday that a young Moroccan had committed suicide by setting himself on fire in protest of the confiscation of his vehicle by authorities in a small town near Casablanca. Yassin Lekmidi, 25, of informal passenger traffic, died Saturday at a hospital in the country’s economic capital, Casablanca, his brother Ahmed Lekmidi told AFP.

The young man set fire to the front of the city of CD Pennur on July 28 in protest of the “unjust” confiscation of his vehicle, but “he told us he had experienced violence from the authorities,” the brother said. No reaction to this case can be obtained immediately from the authorities. The young transporter’s family “seeks to open an investigation,” the brother said.

Hundreds of people protested in CD Pennur late Monday, demanding justice for Yassin, according to a video aired by local media. According to estimates by the Central Bank of Morocco, Morocco has experienced self-immolation events as the final step in the struggle for the economically weaker population and the informal sector, which represents 30% of GDP.

National and international reports often warn of the country’s social inequalities and the need to integrate the informal sector into the national economic framework. According to a recent study by the Moroccan Institute of Statistics (HCP), the health crisis associated with the corona virus has worsened the situation and increased “shallow imbalances”.