Rabat – Police in Casablanca arrested 24 people this week for allegedly blocking traffic on the city’s urban highway during unauthorized protest sit-ins.
On Tuesday, the first deputy public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Casablanca, Abdellatif Saadi, announced that several individuals blocked traffic on the city’s highway. Some of the individuals wore masks and caused a total stoppage, obstructing movement.
Police arrested the individuals in the act of committing the offenses, the prosecutor’s deputy said, stating that adult suspects were placed in public custody.
Minors, however, were subject to retention procedures for investigations.
The arrests come as Morocco has been witnessing a series of youth-led protests in several cities, including Rabat and Casablanca.
Videos viral online documented arrests of youth, which sparked frustration among citizens, who argued that similar protests came to demand basic rights like quality education and healthcare reforms. Observers and rights groups condemned the arrests, emphasizing that such sit-ins were peaceful and did not require security crackdowns.
Many experts, including foreign politicians, have argued that Morocco’s intervention in the protests was tolerant and peaceful.
British MP Andrew Murrison said today that Moroccan security services “showed tolerance and restraint in maintaining public order” during the protests.
“Naturally, as in other emerging countries and in Europe, people are eagerly awaiting further improvements in their standard of living,” Morrison told Moroccan news agency MAP.
He emphasized that Moroccan citizens can demonstrate, but “security forces show tolerance and restraint in maintaining public order.”
