[dropcap]T[/dropcap]housands of protesters marched through the streets of Rotterdam, the second-biggest city in the Netherlands, earlier today, to commemorate the first anniversary of Mouhcine Fikri’s tragic death, crushed to death in a garbage truck on October 28th 2016, as he attempted to retrieve fish that had been confiscated by Morocco police.
The incident sparked a wave of demonstrations in Morocco’s neglected Rif region, demanding demanding jobs, funding for the impoverished area and an end to alleged government corruption.
On the other hand, Morocco police have arrested more than 270 people over the Rif protests, many of them arbitrarily, including peaceful activists and some journalists. The overwhelming majority are in detention, and many have already been sentenced to prison terms for protest-related charges. At least 50 are currently being investigated on state-security charges. Some could face could face death penalty.[ads1]
