Protesters Rally in Avignon for Return of Moroccan Man Deported After 39 Years in France

Yellow vests, supporters who follow him online or community activists had joined this gathering on the Place de l’Horloge in Avignon, reports Le Dauphiné.

Samya Zahiri, Abdel’s wife, recalled during the rally that he had joined France at the age of 5 and does not speak Arabic. "It is in France that he learned freedom of expression, to demonstrate. His place is here," she stressed. The protesters chanted slogans such as "Give Abdel back to his family!" and "Darmanin resign".

What Abdel Zahiri is accused of

A former member of the yellow vest movement, Zahiri has been the subject of several convictions, including a four-month prison sentence for threatening a police commissioner, and a three-month suspended sentence for obstructing traffic and endangering the lives of others on the A7 motorway. After these events, he had reduced his presence in the demonstrations to devote himself more to often controversial online activities, such as interviews with personalities accused of conspiracy theories.