Morocco charges over 2,400 people over Gen Z protests

Morocco has charged more than 2,400 people in recent youth-led protests that have turned violent, a widespread response to some of the country’s largest anti-government demonstrations in years.

Of the 2,480 people charged, 1,473 remain in custody awaiting trial. The charges include armed rebellion, insulting a public officer performing his duties and using violence against him, and inciting to commit felony.

Demonstrations surprise Morocco after youth-led movement calls for Gen Z 212 organized thousands of people across the country to protest the condition of public services. The movement was organized on social media platforms such as discordCriticized government spending on infrastructure to host sporting events while neglecting social services.

Although organizers urged peaceful demonstrations, protests turned violent in some cities and towns, leaving three people dead, several others injured and shops and cars damaged. Rights groups criticized the authorities’ harsh attitude towards protesters, but the government prosecutor said the intervention was carried out legally.

The wave of arrests has alarmed human rights groups and become an additional rallying call for demonstrators, who in recent protests held signs calling for people arrested for taking part in protests. The Moroccan Association for Human Rights has condemned the arrests and described them as random, while Gen Z 212 has demanded the release of all protest detainees.

“People who are demanding a fair chance for their future should not be met with deadly force and repression,” Hanan Salah, associate director of Human Rights Watch, said in a statement last week.

Among those arrested was Moroccan rapper Hamza Red, detained in Casablanca last month, whose songs often touch on politics and youth anger.

The three accused appeared in court before a presiding judge in the capital on Monday. RabatHe has been charged with incitement to commit hooliganism and insulting an official institution after printing activists’ slogans on the jerseys of Morocco’s soccer team, his lawyers told The Associated Press. If found guilty, he could face up to five years in jail.

In front of a crowded courtroom, lawyers filed an application for bail for their clients – two college students and a print shop employee – who they say could face harm after doing little to justify their arrest.

The public prosecutor said more than 400 people were condemned, with sentences ranging from one to 15 years. It said 34 people were acquitted of all charges. —Sam Metz contributed reporting from Rabat, Morocco.