HIBAPRESS – A. Mohyawi
The local authorities in the Tangier-Assilah Prefecture issued decision No. 01 prohibiting the organization of a protest and march that was scheduled to take place on Saturday, February 28, 2026, at 9:00 PM in Iberia Square in Tangier, based on the legal provisions governing public gatherings.
The decision stated that the ban is based on Organic Law No. 113-14 regarding municipalities, particularly Article 110, which empowers the local authority to maintain public order and security within the municipality's territory, in addition to the provisions of Royal Decree No. 1-58-377 issued on November 15, 1958, regarding public gatherings, as amended and supplemented. According to the document, the announcement circulating on social media, attributed to a group calling itself "The Moroccan Front to Support Palestine and Against Normalization," called for participation in a protest in Iberia Square, with the possibility of turning it into a march through public roads, which the authorities considered a violation of the legal provisions regulating prior notification of public gatherings. The decision confirmed that the inviting party did not respect the formalities and legal procedures stipulated in the law, especially regarding the submission of the notification within the specified deadlines, in addition to the fact that organizing a march on public roads is subject to special conditions specified in Chapter Four of the law concerning public gatherings. Article one of the decision stipulated the complete prohibition of organizing the announced protest or march on the specified date and place. Article two indicated that any violation of the decision's provisions would expose those responsible for the protest or march to the penal sanctions stipulated in Article 14 of the aforementioned law. Article three entrusted the task of implementing the decision to the competent local authority, national security elements, and auxiliary forces, each within its jurisdiction. This decision comes in a context in which a number of Moroccan cities are witnessing separate calls to organize solidarity protests, while the authorities emphasize their keenness to ensure respect for the law and maintain public order, in exchange for their emphasis on the need to adhere to the legal procedures governing the right to demonstrate and peaceful assembly. The decision is expected to spark a local debate about the limits of exercising the right to demonstrate and its legal regulations, between those who consider it an organizational measure that falls within the authority's powers, and those who see it as a restriction on freedom of expression guaranteed constitutionally within the framework of respecting the law.
