After eight months of trial, protesters from 2016-2017 in the north of the country were sentenced to up to twenty years in prison. The leader of the protest movement Nasser Zefzafi and other activists, which were involved in organising and leading the demonstrations in Al Hoceima have been accused of "conspiracy to undermine the security of the state", which can also lead to death penalty. The four main leaders were sentenced to 20 years, three other defendants were sentenced to 15 years imprisonment, seven of them to 10 years and 10 to 5 years.
The "Hirak" movement, which began after 28 October 2016 in the Rif region, a young fish trader, Mohcine Fikri, from the coastal town of Al-Hoceima, was killed in terrible conditions: crushed by a dumpster while trying to prevent the police from destroy her goods, illegally caught and just seized by local agents. After this happened protests and rebellions didn't end for about one year. The police tried to end the protests, by hundreds of people arrested and deploying thousands of police and military in this area.
In the last weeks many of the defendants had decided to boycott the trial, denouncing that it was not a fair process.With putting such heavy sentences, the Moroccan state wants to show an example on the rebelling people and also lock away the leading people of the movement and demonstrations.
Solidarity with the political prisoners of the protests in Morocco!
Free all political prisoners!
