Morocco student gets one year in prison over Gen Z protest

A student in Morocco, who was arrested during the youth-led protests demanding social and political reforms, has been sentenced to one year in prison. This is the first publicly known prison sentence linked to the kingdom’s recent Gen Z demonstrations.

The student was charged with “participating in an unauthorised and unarmed gathering” and “insulting the judicial police by providing false information,” according to his lawyer, Mohamed Nouini.

Nouini stated that the ruling is unfair and they will appeal, arguing that sit-ins do not require authorization, citing a Supreme Court precedent. The student was arrested on September 30, just three days after the protests began near-daily between late September and last week.

According to a report by news website Hespress, citing a second lawyer, Mohamed Lakhdar, the student’s arrest was “an unfortunate coincidence” as he was visiting family in Casablanca. Lakhdar told the judge the student had “not insulted” police or provided false information, only stating that he “was just a student.”

Hundreds of people were arrested during the initial days of the largely peaceful demonstrations. While some cities experienced violence and vandalism, authorities claimed three people were killed by police acting in “self-defence” during clashes in a village near Agadir.

The Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH) reported that approximately 550 people are facing prosecution on suspicion of joining the protests, with some still in detention.

The demonstrations, organized by the online-based GenZ 212 youth collective whose organizers remain unknown, were initially triggered by the deaths of eight pregnant women during Caesarean sections at a hospital in Agadir.

However, protesters also demanded broader reforms to the education system and a change of government. The collective has since called for “peaceful sit-ins” and demanded the release of all those arrested.