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A Moroccan opposition party a bill to the Moroccan parliament seeking amnestyÌýfor the prisoners related to theÌýHirak Rif movement, eight of whom remain behind bars since protests overÌýsocial injustices in North Morocco erupted in 2016.

Nabila Mounib, the head of the United Socialist Party, proposed the draft law on Monday that aims to end the protesters'Ìýlong sentences, including the uprising's leader Nasser Zefzafi, who was sentenced in 2017 to twenty years in jail.

"The presence of the best youth of the region behind bars and the issuance of harsh sentences against them simply for their many demands that the government itself recognised as legitimate and just, is unacceptable,"Ìýsaid the proposed bill.

Mounib's proposal is based on Article 71 of the Moroccan Constitution, which states that "Parliament is competent to issue the law, in addition to the articles expressly assigned to it in other chapters of the constitution, such as amnesty."

Meanwhile, Article 51 of the Constitution grants the Moroccan king the "right to pardon"Ìýprisoners, without adding further details. Royal pardon includes hundreds of prisoners each year,ÌýÌýusually issued during Islamic and national holidays.

During the past four years, the palace pardoned hundreds of Hirak Rif prisoners, including several protesters who were sentenced to twenty years.

To receive a royal pardon in Morocco, the prisoner needs to submit a request, in which they admit guilt and seek pardon from the highest authority in the country, with aÌýcommitment from them not to repeat what they were convicted for.Ìý

The protests'Ìýleader Nasser Zefzafi has so farÌýÌýa royal pardon, arguing that it holds him guilty for the simple reason of protesting social injustices in his region.

Some view a parliamentary's amnesty may beÌýthe most practicalÌýsolution to alleviateÌýaÌýfive-year-long socio-political conflict that fuelsÌýlong-standing sentimentsÌýof injustice experienced byÌýRifis.

"The purpose of it [the amnesty] is to get out of the predicament in which judicial rulings put us, and so as not to harm the independence of the judiciary,"ÌýAbdel Rahim Allam, a Moroccan expert in constitutional law elaboratedÌýto °®Âþµº.

However, aÌýparliamentary's amnesty, which was first introduced in the 2011 constitution, can be a legislative labyrinth that wouldÌýultimately require a royal decision to be approved.

According to Article 49 of the Constitution, the study of the draft law related to this type of amnesty must be submitted to the Ministerial Council, headed by the Moroccan king, for deliberation.

Hirak Rif's uprising erupted in 2016, after Mohsen Fikri, a Rifi fishmonger wasÌýto death inside a garbage truck, under police watch, as he climbed in to retrieve his shipment of fish that was confiscated by authorities.

For many Rifis, a male voice yelling "crush him"Ìýin the background of the video that documented Fikri's deathÌýechoed "the neglect" ofÌýthe state forÌýdecades towardsÌýthe cities of the mountainous region.

Protesters called for justice, an end to corruption and better treatment for Rifis,Ìýwho were notoriously described by former King Hassan II as "despicables".

In 2017, authorities launched a campaign ofÌý, that included the movement's leaderÌý.

According to estimates by activists, eight detainees from the Hirak remain in Moroccan prisons, most notably Nasser Zefzafi and Nabil Ahamjik, who are both sentenced to 20 years for "serving a separatist agenda and conspiring to harm state security."