Moroccan court sentences 13 activists to suspended prison terms over Carrefour protest

The Court of First Instance in Salé issued a six-month suspended prison sentence on Thursday against 13 activists from the Moroccan Front to Support Palestine and Combat Normalization, in a case widely known in the media as the protests against the Carrefour store.

The court charged the defendants with «organizing an unlicensed protest» following their participation in demonstrations they organized in November 2023 in front of the Carrefour store in Salé, calling for a boycott of its products in solidarity with Palestine. The court also imposed a fine of 2,000 dirhams on each of them, as confirmed by one of the activists.

The events in question date back to November 25 of last year, when authorities arrested members of the pro-Palestine group while they were protesting in front of the French store in Salé. After being interrogated, they were released the same day, only to be summoned four months later for trial on charges of «organizing, inciting, and participating in an unlicensed protest», and were prosecuted while at large.