In Morocco, the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement has raised alarms over trials targeting pro-Palestine activists, accusing Rabat of attempting to criminalise solidarity with Palestine or actions against normalisation with Israel.
"We are at a dangerous turning point in the path of rights and freedoms in Morocco [...] where solidarity with the Palestinian cause is being criminalised," said Sumayya Bouabdallah, a member of BDS Morocco, during a press conference on Monday.
Last December, a Moroccan court sentenced Ismail Lghazaoui, an activist with BDS Morocco, to one year in prison for calling for a blockade of the US embassy over its support for Israel. He was charged with "incitement to commit crimes and misdemeanours using electronic means."
Lghazaoui, 34, was detained on 19 November 2024 in Casablanca, just days after calling on Tangier port workers and the public to block two Maersk cargo ships suspected of transporting military equipment to Israel.
In October, the agricultural engineer also advocated for a blockade of the US embassy during a protest in Casablanca, accusing Washington of sponsoring Israel's genocide in Gaza.
"When you raise your child to love Palestine, you don't expect the state to punish them for it," Lghazaoui's mother said tearfully, as she described the "difficult conditions" he faces in jail.
In coordination with Morocco's Association of Human Rights (AMDH), BDS Morocco held a press conference on Monday to highlight Lghazaoui's case, alongside those of more than ten other anti-normalisation activists who have faced court proceedings since the start of the Gaza war.
Last December, a Moroccan court sentenced 13 pro-Palestine activists to six months of suspended prison time for participating in unauthorised protests targeting Carrefour stores—a French retailer reportedly maintaining partnerships with Israeli companies operating in illegal settlements.
"Recently, the Carrefour store in Youssoufia city filed a complaint against activist Mohamed Al-Kashkash after he called on residents to boycott Carrefour for its involvement in war crimes," said BDS Morocco.
Al-Kashkash is set to appear in court on 20 January. °®Âþµº contacted Carrefour Morocco for comment but received no response by the time of publication.
In April 2024, Abdul Rahman Zankad was sentenced to five years in prison after posting on Facebook about Israel's war on Gaza and criticising Morocco's decision to normalise ties with Tel Aviv. He was convicted of insulting a constitutional institution and incitement.
In November 2023, activist Said Boukioud was sentenced to three years in prison for Facebook posts that criticised the monarchy and denounced normalisation.
Rabat and Tel Aviv normalised ties in December 2020 under US auspices.
Local pro-Palestine groups have the Moroccan government of using "unprecedented measures" to suppress dissent to protect its normalisation agreement with Israel.
While Rabat has refrained from addressing the arrests, former Prime Minister Saad Eddine El Othmani, who signed the normalisation agreement, claimed that "there are few arrests compared to the number of protests."
Pro-Palestine protests in the country have intensified since Israel's war on Gaza began, with activists urging the revocation of Morocco's normalisation agreement with Israel.
Since October 2023, Moroccans have staged weekly protests across the country, demanding that Rabat halt normalisation.
Although Morocco has generally allowed public protests against Israel, authorities have, on several occasions, banned demonstrations near the French and US embassies and used force to disperse protests outside Carrefour stores, according to pro-Palestinian groups.
On New Year's Eve, anti-normalisation protesters counted down to midnight chanting, "2025, and we are still resilient." Pro-Palestine groups have vowed to continue pressing Rabat this year to revoke its agreements with Tel Aviv.
"We won't give up until they close the office of shame [the Israeli Liaison Office] in Rabat and end all agreements with the Zionist entity," said Hicham Aadi, a member of the Moroccan Movement of Nosra, an Islamist pro-Palestine group.