The Criminal Chamber of the Casablanca Court of Appeal issued its verdict late Thursday in the case of young people arrested in connection with protests linked to what has become known as the “Generation Z” movement.
The court sentenced three defendants who had been prosecuted while at liberty to one-year suspended prison terms. It also handed prison sentences of eight months to 13 defendants, a ruling that effectively clears the way for their release after time already served in custody.
Two additional defendants received nine-month prison sentences and are expected to leave prison within approximately two weeks.
The ruling was met with relief among the families and relatives of those detained in the case, particularly because most of the defendants were expected to be released from Ain Sebaa prison, commonly known as Oukacha prison, on Friday.
Relatives gathered outside the prison facility awaiting the release of their family members following the court’s decision.
The case involved 18 young defendants arrested after demonstrations on a highway in Casablanca during protests organized by the movement known as “Generation Z 212.”
The King’s Prosecutor General at the Casablanca Court of Appeal had ordered their prosecution in custody on charges including obstructing traffic and disrupting the circulation of vehicles. Some defendants also faced additional charges related to drug use.
The arrests followed an operation conducted by Casablanca’s judicial police brigade, acting on instructions from the public prosecutor’s office, which initially detained 21 young people who participated in a nighttime protest on the highway in Morocco’s economic capital on Sept. 28.
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