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Rabat – A court in Casablanca has sentenced six minors to six months in prison for obstructing traffic on a highway during last autumn’s GenZ212 protest movement.
According to the court decision delivered on Friday evening, the minors were found guilty of blocking circulation on Casablanca’s urban highway during demonstrations organized by the GenZ212 collective, which had called for reforms in education and healthcare and an end to corruption.
One of the defense lawyers, El Hassan Essonni, confirmed the verdict, adding that four of the minors who had been held in a juvenile detention center would be released the same evening after completing their sentence.
For the remaining two, who were not in pre-trial detention, it was not immediately clear whether their sentences would be suspended or enforced.
In the same case last week, 18 other individuals, all adults, received sentences ranging from suspended prison terms to ten months in prison. Thirteen of them were released shortly after serving their time.
According to the public prosecutor, the arrests were made in late September when protesters were caught in the act of blocking traffic on Casablanca’s urban highway, bringing traffic to a complete standstill.
The GenZ212 protests took place almost daily for two weeks before gradually fading, following calls for accelerated social reforms. The government later announced increased budget efforts for health and education in the 2026 financial plan, following a royal address urging faster progress in social sectors.
The demonstrations were also marked by incidents of vandalism and clashes on two nights near Agadir in southern Morocco, which resulted in three deaths.
In October, prosecutors said that more than 2,400 people were being prosecuted in connection with the protests, including around 1,400 who had been placed in detention, most for violence linked to the demonstrations.
