A Moroccan court on Tuesday sentenced to three months in jail a journalist accused of having “invited” people to take part in banned protests in the restive north, his website said. Hamid El Mahdaoui was arrested on Thursday at the start of a banned demonstration in the northern city of Al-Hoceima, during which protesters clashed … Read more
Media watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on Saturday accused the Moroccan authorities of hindering coverage of unrest in the Rif region which has been shaken by protests for nine months. This year has seen waves of protests and bouts of violence in the Rif, where residents have long complained of neglect and marginalisation. “The situation … Read more
A protester was in a coma after being struck on the head during clashes between demonstrators and security forces in northern Morocco, local authorities said on Friday. He was taken to hospital overnight after being wounded by “stone throwing” in the clashes on Thursday in the city of Al-Hoceima, official news agency MAP quoted the … Read more
Protesters prepared to march in the Moroccan city of Al-Hoceima on Thursday in defiance of a government ban, the latest in a series of demonstrations that have shaken the country’s north. The North African country’s Rif region, where residents have long complained of neglect and marginalisation, has seen repeated protests and outbreaks of unrest this … Read more
Morocco’s government will make a regional tour to examine development projects, Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani said Thursday after months of protests shook the northern Rif region. Media reports said the tour could begin by next week. It is expected to take in the central Beni Mellal-Khenifra region and “the southern provinces”, a reference … Read more
Moroccan security forces have begun withdrawing from the restive northern cities of Al-Hoceima and Imzouren, which have been rocked by weeks of social unrest, officials and residents said. A “gradual” pullback from both cities began on Monday at the request of King Mohammed VI, the governor of Al-Hoceima province, Fouad Chourak, told reporters. A resident … Read more
Nearly 80 police officers were injured in two days of clashes with protesters in Morocco’s restive Rif region, an official said Wednesday, although the number of demonstrators hurt was unknown. Around 50 members of the security forces were hurt on Monday in the northern city of Al-Hoceima, most of them struck by stones, a high-ranking … Read more
Morocco’s king has rebuked ministers over delays to a development programme meant to pump investment into a region rocked by months of protests over unemployment and perceived state neglect. Mohammed VI told ministers Sunday of his “disappointment, dissatisfaction and concern” that the $670 million (600 million euro) programme in the northern Rif region was behind … Read more
The leader of a protest movement in northern Morocco was “severely” beaten and verbally abused by police during his arrest, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said Thursday. Nasser Zefzafi — leader of Al-Hirak al-Shaabi, or the “Popular Movement” — was detained on May 29 in a village 50 kilometres (30 miles) from the city … Read more