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Morocco: Protest movement reenergized, monarchy must give something or face permanent state of protest
The Moroccan monarchy has been extremely hesitant to put in place more meaningful reforms that would address the basic civil rights of the general population. The Kingdom is often characterized by its lobby groups as "the Moroccan exception," considering that there...
Morocco: Arrest of suspect allegedly plotting terror attack on Spain
Madrid, April 17, 2019 (AFP) - Police have arrested a suspect in Morocco allegedly preparing a jihadist attack on Seville, the southern Spanish city known for its Holy Week processions, Spain's interior ministry said Wednesday. The intelligence and police services of...
Morocco: Court upholds outrageous prison terms for Hirak leaders
Rabat, April 10, 2019 - Human Rights Watch on Wednesday warned Rabat over what it called the "shocking" Moroccan court of appeal rulings against 42 leaders of a protest movement. "The shocking appeals verdict upholding up to 20-year sentences... failed to deal with...
Morocco: Swiss national sentenced to prison for terrorism
Rabat, April 12, 2019 - A Moroccan court has sentenced a Swiss citizen arrested in connection with the murder of two Scandinavian hikers to 10 years in prison on terrorism charges, his lawyer said Friday. Kahlil Idriss said the man, identified only as Nicolas P., 33,...
Morocco: Jailed leader of the protest movement takes drastic step of sewing his lips
Rabat, April 9, 2019 - The jailed leader of a Moroccan protest movement, Nasser Zefzafi, has sewn his lips together after losing an appeal against a 20-year prison term, several sources said Tuesday. "Nasser (Zefzafi) has chosen this way of protesting to express his...
Morocco: Teachers take to the streets of Rabat to demand better conditions
Rabat, March 24, 2019 - Thousands of teachers flooded the streets of the Moroccan capital on Sunday to demand better conditions after a nighttime protest dispersed by riot police left dozens wounded. Teachers on temporary contracts have been on strike since March 3...
Morocco: Suspected Moroccan Jihadis back home, likely to face tough justice
Rabat, March 10, 2019 - Morocco said Sunday it had repatriated eight of its nationals from Syria, who will be investigated for "suspected involvement in acts linked to terrorism". "The competent Moroccan authorities proceeded on March 10 to repatriate a group of eight...
Morocco: Journalist Bouachrine sentenced to 12 years in prison over bogus charges
Rabat, Feb 26, 2019 - Amnesty International urged Morocco on Tuesday to "immediately" free a newspaper publisher sentenced to 12 years in prison on charges of rape and other offences, after a trial his lawyers say was politically motivated. "We believe that (Taoufik)...
Morocco: Public school teachers lament fixed-term contracts, face antiriot police in violent Rabat protest
Rabat, Feb 20, 2019 - Moroccan security forces Wednesday fired water cannon at public school teachers demonstrating in Rabat and wielded batons to block their route to the royal palace, injuring dozens, AFP correspondents said. Ambulances evacuated the injured to...
Morocco: Police arrest three foreign nationals suspected to have links to Islamic State
Rabat, Feb 12, 2019 - Moroccan authorities said Tuesday they had arrested three French nationals suspected of links to the Islamic State jihadist group for alleged involvement in "financing terrorism". The suspects, one of whom is of Algerian origin, were arrested...
European Parliamant adopts EU-Morocco fishing agreement, angering Polisario Front
Strasbourg, France, Feb 12, 2019 (AFP) - The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted a new fishing agreement with Morocco that covers the adjacent waters of the disputed Western Sahara, angering the Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement. The authors...
Morocco: Swine flu outbreak kills nine in Morocco
Rabat, Feb 2, 2019 (AFP) - An outbreak of swine flu in Morocco has left nine people dead in the past week, the kingdom's health minister said Saturday. The spread of the H1N1 virus was "normal" for the time of the year, said Anas Doukkali, quoted by Morocco's official...
Trade: Concerns over the flooding of Turkish products into Morocco ($)
Turkish businesses are extremely competitive, with high-quality products and low prices. Despite efforts from the Moroccans to block direct entries of Turkish goods and products into its markets, Turkish exporters have been clever utilizing Arab free trade agreements...
UN conflict resolution technique: more conferences, and another one on the Western Sahara
By Arezki Daoud - 30 January 2019: The UN does a lot of good things, including humanitarian support to people in distress. One area where the institution is ineffective is bringing feuding parties in key conflicts and get them to agree no matter what. One of the...
Urban Issues: The stray dogs and wild boars of North African cities
Opinion by Arezki Daoud - January 29, 2019: There could be as many as 15 million stray dogs roaming the streets of Egypt, and in the past four years, no less than 231 people died from rabies. Egypt does not believe in decentralized governance, which means the central...
Morocco: Man fears for safety after arrested wearing a dress
Rabat, Jan 25, 2019 (AFP) - Chafik Lafrid's life has become a nightmare since footage of his arrest in Marrakesh on New Year's Eve, wearing a dress and a wig, went viral on social media. Homosexuality is illegal in Morocco, and the 33-year-old, who occasionally...
Morocco complains to UN of Western Sahara truce violations
United Nations, United States, Jan 11, 2019 (AFP) - Morocco has accused Polisario Front fighters in Western Sahara of violating a ceasefire agreement, just weeks before an expected new round of talks on ending the decades-old conflict. In a letter seen by AFP on...
Morocco: The closing of the deadly mines of Jerada
Rabat, Jan 9, 2019 - Moroccan authorities closed 2,000 illegal mineshafts last year in Jerada, an impoverished former coal town that has been the site of a string of deadly mining accidents. The closure of the "abandoned and illicitly exploited shafts" was announced...
Morocco: Killing of two tourists prompts Western authorities to caution their citizens when traveling to Morocco
Morocco has long been one of the most sheltered areas in North Africa from terror activity, largely due to the efficiency of its intelligence services and its counter-terrorism measures. But the killing of two European tourists in mid-December 2018 by suspected...
Morocco: New test of allegiance to Saudi Arabia
The North Africa Journal - November 19, 2018: In an article posted on November 4, 2018, the Washington Post reported the “the government of Morocco recently said it had extradited Prince Turki bin Bandar to Saudi Arabia to comply with an Interpol warrant. But in a...
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