Rabat – Nasser Zefzafi, the prominent leader of Morocco’s Hirak Rif protest movement, has passed his second-semester university exams from prison for the 2024-2025 academic year with an impressive average of 15.64.
The announcement was made by his brother, Tarek Zefzafi, on Facebook. Nasser dedicated his success to his parents and all his loved ones.
Nasser is currently enrolled at the Faculty of Economic and Social Sciences in Tangier. He continues his studies from within Tangier II prison, where he remains detained following his sentencing.
In 2023, while still in prison, he earned his baccalaureate diploma in the humanities track with an average of 14.30.
Born in Al Hoceima on November 4, 1979, Zefzafi is a leading figure in the Hirak Rif movement, a protest wave that began in 2016 following the tragic death of a fishmonger, Mohcine Fikri.
Fikri was crushed to death in a garbage truck while trying to retrieve his confiscated fish. His death sparked public outrage and triggered large-scale protests demanding justice, jobs, better healthcare, and improved infrastructure in the Rif region.
Regarded by many as a symbol of nonviolent resistance, Zefzafi famously interrupted a Friday sermon in May 2017 to criticize the cleric and call for justice and reforms.
Zefzafi was arrested on May 29, 2017, and later charged with undermining state security and related offenses. In June 2018, he received a 20-year prison sentence.
Despite periodic royal pardons granted in Morocco, for instance, on national holidays or in recognition of certain detainees, Zefzafi has reportedly repeatedly refused to apply for one. He argues that seeking a pardon would imply admitting guilt for activities he asserts were simply peaceful protests.
