Morocco’s National Council of Human Rights (CNDH) said Al Hoceima protests that erupted in late 2016 witnessed acts that incite violence and hatred. It said 814 demonstrations were held, mostly without permission, and the authorities prevented only two of them.
In a report published on Sunday, the CNDH provided parts of speeches delivered by the protests' leader, Nasser Zefzafi, saying they have incited “violence and hatred," which goes against democracy and human rights.
The report divided the protests into two parts. The first was peaceful starting from October 2016 to March 2017, while the second phase saw violence.
“The peaceful phase was long, and people were protesting day and night,” the report noted.
In the second phase of Hirak al-Rif protests, demonstrators threw stones on security forces as they tried to disperse people. During this period, Imad al-Atabi and another civilian were reported dead.
This phase was characterized by “severe violence.”
The most violent acts took place on March 26, 2017, and on July 20 of the same year, when Al Hoceima city witnessed four simultaneous protests in separate neighborhoods.
It said 302,000 publications linked to Al-Hoceima events were published on social media sites, of which 10,000 spread hatred and violence.
The Council said its team has searched in these publications and concluded that they were “issued by sites abroad.”
“Only 19 percent of the publications that don’t reflect the true message from the Hirak were from Morocco,” the report stressed, affirming that most of the other sources were distributed among Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany.
