A women’s solidarity convoy brought together human rights defenders, lawyers, academics, politicians, civil society activists and journalists in the northern city of Al Hoceima to express support for the mothers of Hirak Rif detainees and renew calls for the release of jailed protest leader Nasser Zefzafi and other prisoners linked to the movement.
Participants said the initiative was intended to demonstrate solidarity with families of detainees and respond to what they described as online harassment and defamation targeting the mothers of imprisoned activists.
Among those taking part was Souad Brahma, president of the Moroccan Association for Human Rights. She said the convoy was partly motivated by social media attacks directed at Zefzafi’s mother after she publicly expressed grief over her son’s continued imprisonment.
According to Brahma, the criticism followed images of Zefzafi’s mother wearing black and raising a black flag to mark the ninth Eid al-Adha spent without her son, while also mourning the loss of her husband.
“We have always expressed our solidarity with the families of political prisoners and called for the release of their relatives,” Brahma told Hespress AR. “This is an opportunity to renew our demand for the release of the remaining Hirak Rif detainees.”
Lawyer and human rights advocate Sara Soujar described the convoy as an initiative launched by activists and lawyers closely involved in the case, citing the continued imprisonment of Hirak detainees and the absence of a visible political solution.
She said the initiative received broad support from activists and families and that participants traveled to Al Hoceima to reassure the detainees’ mothers that they were not alone.
“We supported this case from the first day of the arrests and remain convinced of the justice of their cause,” Soujar said. “Nothing has changed our position, and we continue to call for the detainees’ release.”
The convoy also delivered messages of solidarity collected through Amnesty International‘s “Write for Rights” campaign. Organizers said the messages came from supporters around the world, particularly in Europe, and were addressed to Zefzafi and other imprisoned activists.
Participants also chanted slogans and listened to testimonies from mothers of detainees, who spoke about their continued determination and belief in their sons’ innocence despite years of hardship, restrictions and personal loss.
Soujar said the initiative was not intended to frame solidarity as a women-only issue but rather as a broader defense of dignity and human rights.
“An attack on the dignity of mothers and women is an attack on all of our dignity,” she said.
The Hirak Rif movement emerged in northern Morocco in 2016 following the death of fish vendor Mohcine Fikri, sparking protests that called for improved social and economic conditions in the Rif region. Several leading activists were later arrested and sentenced to lengthy prison terms, becoming the focus of ongoing human rights campaigns calling for their release.
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