Morocco’s King Pardons 1,446 Prisoners, Including Rif Protest Leaders

According to the statement from the Ministry of Justice, which did not reveal the identity of the beneficiaries, "1267 prisoners in detention and 179 others on parole have benefited from the royal pardon".

On social networks where the news spread very quickly, Moroccan activists have stated that among the pardoned are 20 well-known activists of the Hirak of Rif.

To recall, protests that had erupted in October 2016 lasted 10 consecutive months in the city of Al-Hoceima and several other cities in the Rif (north), during which the protesters demanding social equity and real development of the region were arrested. Their leader, Nasser Zefzafi, arrested in May 2017, will be sentenced the following year to twenty years in prison for "conspiracy to undermine state security", at the end of a trial that also brought together 53 defendants over the course of nine months.