By Khaled Majdoub

RABAT

Hundreds of Salafists took to the streets of Moroccan capital Rabat on Monday to press for the release of detained Islamist activists.

Hundreds of Islamists were detained by the Moroccan authorities on terrorism charges following a 2003 wave of bombings in the port city of Casablanca in which 45 people were killed and scores injured.

At Monday’s rally, protesters called for the release of those detained following the bombings and a fresh investigation into the string of attacks.

"The families of the detainees organized this rally to press for the release of their sons," Hasnaa Mosad, a spokesperson for a campaign devoted to securing the detainees’ release, told Anadolu Agency.

According to official estimates, some 800 people are currently languishing in Moroccan prisons on "terrorism" charges.

In 2003, the Moroccan authorities passed a tough new "anti-terrorism" law that gave the authorities the power to arrest and try hundreds of suspects.

Last November, 37 jailed Islamists were pardoned under an agreement reached between the Moroccan authorities and representatives of the detainees.