On September 25, 2024, police beat hundreds of student protesters and arrested at least 15 students from the Mohammed V University of Rabat’s Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy during a protest related to the quality of medical school education. Multiple students were injured. Twenty-eight people, including students, were arrested and twenty-seven prosecuted before being acquitted.
During a sit-in outside the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy, which students had obtained prior approval for, police intervened and began kicking, pushing, and cursing at demonstrators. Several students experienced fainting spells and injuries as a result.
Twenty-seven people, including students, were arrested and charged with disobedience, failure to comply with authorities, and unauthorized unarmed assembly for their participation in the sit-in. The Court of First Instance in Rabat acquitted them of all charges on January 22, 2025.
The demonstration was part of a 10 months-long strike that began after the Moroccan Ministries of Health and Higher Education reduced the length of medical studies from seven to six years, a change that the students believe will reduce the quality of their education. In May 2024, students at universities across the country, including the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat (see report), Abdelmalek Saadi University (see report), and Mohammed I University (see report), for participating in the strike.
Scholars at Risk is concerned about the use of force by police and the detention of students in apparent retaliation for the nonviolent exercise of the rights to freedom of expression and association. State authorities have a responsibility not to interfere with the right to freedom of expression and association, so long as they are exercised peacefully and responsibly. Detentions aimed at limiting such activity undermine academic freedom and democratic society generally.
Sources:
*SAR identified this incident in data made publicly available by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED)
https://www.universityworldnews.com/post.php?story=20241002150620346
https://www.facebook.com/reel/835138231977228
https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=857843273172752&set=pcb.857843603172719
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/09/365410/sit-in-chaos-police-crackdown-on-rabat-medical-students-protest
https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/154518/moroccan-medical-students-urge-solidarity.html
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2024/09/365427/is-this-how-we-treat-our-future-doctors-medical-unions-student-associations-denounce-violent-crackdown-in-rabat
https://en.yabiladi.com/articles/details/154566/medical-student-strike-protesters-facing.html
https://barlamantoday.com/2025/01/22/rabat-court-acquits-27-medical-students-amid-education-protests/
https://www.freiheit.org/morocco/moroccos-year-long-student-uprising