Moroccan Court Delivers Harsh Sentences in GenZ 212 Protest Crackdown

"Two defendants were sentenced to three years in prison, a third was sentenced to four years, while nine others were given ten years in prison," said a judicial source to Barlamane, adding that "three defendants were sentenced to fifteen years in prison and another to twelve years." These sentences are seen as a "strong signal from the justice system in the face of the excesses of street violence," continues the same source, estimating that they reflect "the firm determination of the judicial power to preserve public peace and to reaffirm the authority of the law."

The incriminated acts took place at the beginning of October, when young people from Aït Amira, responding to the call to demonstrate by GenZ 212, stormed the streets to demand reforms in the education and health sectors. But these movements degenerated and "several individuals had set fire to vehicles belonging to the public forces and had committed acts of vandalism against administrative buildings, businesses and private properties," according to the findings of the investigation conducted by the national security services under the supervision of the competent prosecutor’s office.

The investigations led to the arrest of several suspects, accused "of having participated in arson, the destruction of public and private property, and violence against the security forces." According to the same source, the sentences pronounced against these young people "are intended to be exemplary and aim to remind that no one can escape the law when they threaten the safety of citizens and the integrity of institutions."