1,500 Moroccans face legal charges for Gen Z protests

Since September 27th 2025, Moroccan youth has been protesting against the government’s alleged corruption and the under-investment in the public services. 1500 protesters who took to the streets to express their anger and frustration are now facing prosecution for the involvement in the demonstrations, according to France 24 via AFP.

Souad Brahma, the president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (MAHR), has revealed that out of the 1500 young Moroccans, 240 have been sentenced by the Agadir Court of Appeal, with 39 of the detainees facing 6 to 15 years in prison for their involvement in violent protests.

Brahma added that hundreds more were given sentences ranging from 3 to 12 months in other areas of the North African country. The young Moroccans are facing varied charges from the organisation of unauthorised demonstrations, the damage of public and private property, the possession of blades, as well as violence and insults against the police.

The president of MAHR called for the Moroccan authorities to ensure that the legally charged should all be guaranteed fair trails. She also urged for impartial investigations into the potential human rights violations that could have occurred during the protests.

On October 14th, 17 young Moroccans were given sentences from 3 to 15 years after their involvement in violent protests that took place in Ait Amira, 20 kilometres south of Agadir. They were also charged on similar counts, however the sentences were said to be very uneven and extremely severe.

Protests have taken place in the country for the past weeks, as the GenZ 212 group started the peaceful movement to show their discontent with the government’s disregard for public services and the country’s rampant corruption. While most protests have been peaceful, clashes with the police occurred and as violence erupted at certain protests, three young Moroccans were killed.

The movement has seen dwindling support over the past few weeks. The low frequency and turnout in the protests might be related to the arrest as well as the speech of the Moroccan King during which called for his government to adopt social reforms.

Since then, the government’s 2026 finance bill included an increase in the budgets of the health and education ministries by a combined 16%, amounting to $15 billion for the public services. However, the Gen Z Moroccans and experts are wary of corruption and are unsure whether pouring money into a broken system will help solve the social issues in the long-term, as reported by the Middle East Eye.

The protests were sparked following the deaths of 8 pregnant women in a hospital of Agadir in southern Morocco, which highlighted the lack of funds and medical staff of the public healthcare system.

The dissenters of the new 2026 budget are casting doubts over the intent behind this investment after years of underinvestment. They wondered whether it’s not just another “political tactic” to ease the unrest while the government sidelines the implementation of structural reforms and avoids tackling corruption.

France 24 via AFP, Middle East Eye, Maghrebi.org