The World Amazigh Congress has issued a statement supporting mothers of detained Rif activists who have renewed public appeals for the release of their sons, jailed in connection with the Hirak Rif protest movement.
The CMA’s June 18 notice said several mothers, including the mother of Nasser Zefzafi, had called on Moroccan authorities to end what they described as years of anguish by freeing detainees held since the 2017 crackdown on the Rif movement. The organization framed the appeal as a humanitarian and rights issue as well as an Amazigh political concern.
The Hirak Rif protests began after the death of fishmonger Mohcine Fikri in Al Hoceima in 2016 and grew into a wider movement demanding dignity, public services, economic opportunity and accountability in the Rif. Many activists were later sentenced to long prison terms, making the detainees’ families central voices in the continuing campaign for release.
The CMA’s intervention places the mothers’ appeal in a broader Amazigh rights framework. For Amazigh organizations, the Rif detainee issue remains linked to questions of regional marginalization, state response to peaceful protest, and the right of communities to demand development without criminalization.
The statement does not change the legal status of the detainees, but it keeps the case in international Amazigh civil-society channels at a time when families continue to seek public attention and relief. It also reinforces the role of mothers and relatives as some of the most persistent advocates for the prisoners’ release.