GenZ 212 protest movement in Morocco: six minors sentenced to six months in prison

Moroccan justice sentenced six minors to six months in prison on Friday evening for "obstructing traffic" on a highway during the GenZ 212 youth protest movement last autumn, the defense announced to AFP on Friday.

The events took place in Casablanca, in western Morocco, in the context of peaceful gatherings by this group which demanded reforms in the health and education sectors and "an end to corruption".

A court in Casablanca sentenced six minors to "six months in prison", one of their lawyers, El Hassan Essonni, told AFP.

Four of them, who were placed in pre-trial detention in a juvenile detention center, "will regain their freedom tonight" after serving their sentences, he added.

Regarding the other two, who appeared as free men, it was not immediately clear whether the sentence was suspended or to be served.

Last Friday, in the same case, 18 young people – all adults – were sentenced to terms ranging from one year suspended to ten months in prison. Thirteen of them were released immediately after serving their sentences.

According to the prosecutor's office, the protesters were arrested at the end of September "in the act of obstructing traffic on the Casablanca urban highway" causing "a total stoppage" of road traffic.

The GenZ 212 collective's demonstrations, which had been almost daily for two weeks, gradually lost momentum, particularly after a speech by King Mohammed VI calling for an acceleration of social reforms and the government's announcement of a "budgetary effort" for 2026 in favor of health and education.

Alongside these demonstrations, two evenings were marked by acts of vandalism and clashes that left three dead near Agadir, in the south.

In October, the prosecutor's office indicated that more than 2,400 people, including about 1,400 in detention, were facing prosecution, mostly for violence that occurred following the demonstrations by the collective.