Morocco: Youth activist Zeineb Kharroubi arrested and held for interrogation over social media posts

Read in Arabic / للقراءة بالعربية

Moroccan authorities must immediately and unconditionally release Zeineb Kharroubi, a member of the "GenZ212" youth movement, who was arrested on the evening of February 12, 2026, at Marrakesh Menara Airport. Kharroubi, a Moroccan resident of France, was intercepted by security forces upon her arrival from Paris and held incommunicado for several hours before being transferred to the Marrakesh police headquarters for interrogation.

The arrest appears to be a direct retaliation for her peaceful political expression and assembly. Authorities are interrogating Kharroubi over social media posts regarding youth rights and the movement's activities. These protests, which began across Morocco in September 2025, demanded socio-economic justice, an end to systemic unemployment, and the protection of the right to peaceful assembly. During the airport detention, security personnel reportedly seized her smartphone and forced her to provide access to private data, using her online footprint as a justification for a criminal investigation.

A border crossing is not a lawless zone where the state can arrest its citizens for their political beliefs or strip-search their digital lives. When authorities arrest activists for their online expression and then dig through their private data, they are conducting a crackdown on the next generation of Moroccan voices and ultimately seeking to dismantle the youth-led movement’s ability to organize in the country and beyond. Moroccan authorities must stop treating peaceful advocacy as a criminal offense and start respecting the digital and physical safety of their citizens.

The arrest of Kharroubi violates the Moroccan Constitution of 2011, specifically Article 25, which explicitly states that "the freedoms of thought, of opinion and of expression under all their forms are guaranteed," while Article 24 protects the confidentiality of private communications.

Executing an arrest and a device search without a clear judicial warrant ignores the state's highest law and its international commitments. Morocco ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) committing to uphold Article 19, which mandates that everyone shall have the right to hold opinions without interference and the freedom to "seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds... regardless of frontiers."  

The interrogation and arrest of Kharroubi for posts shared on social media is a textbook violation of these principles and an abuse of police power that undermines the presumption of innocence and the right to a fair trial.

Skyline International for Human Rights demands that the Moroccan government:

• Immediately release Zeineb Kharroubi and cease all legal proceedings or investigations linked to her peaceful exercise of freedom of expression and assembly;
   
• Guarantee her immediate access to legal counsel and communication with her family, ensuring her physical and psychological integrity;
   
• Return all seized electronic devices and provide a transparent guarantee that no private data or credentials have been compromised;
   
• Uphold the ICCPR and the 2011 Constitution by ending the harassment of Gen Z members and prohibiting warrantless arrests based on political opinion and online expression.