صحافة بلادي صحيفة إلكترونية مغاربية متجددة على مدار الساعة تعنى بشؤون المغرب الجزائر ليبيا موريتانيا تونس
Moroccan law, specifically Royal Decree 1.58.377 relating to public gatherings, specifies clear and explicit penalties for anyone who organizes or participates in a demonstration or public gathering without respecting legal procedures. These penalties may amount to effective imprisonment in addition to financial fines, with the aim of balancing the right to expression and maintaining public order.
The law fundamentally distinguishes between the responsibility of protest organizers and its participants. For organizers who submit an invitation to an unauthorized gathering or decide to organize it despite the issuance of a ban, the penalties are more severe, ranging from imprisonment to a fine.
As for participants in an unarmed gathering, legal prosecution is mainly related to refusal to comply with orders from public forces to disperse. According to Chapter 22 of the Public Gatherings Law, anyone who participates in an unarmed gathering and refuses to withdraw after issuing three warnings from the authorities will be punished with imprisonment for a period ranging between one and three months and a fine ranging from 1,200 to 5,000 dirhams, or one of these two penalties only. The prison sentence shall be increased to a period ranging from one month to six months if it is necessary to disperse the crowd by force.
Importantly, these “gathering”-related penalties do not include other crimes that may be committed during a protest. In the event of committing acts of violence against public forces, sabotaging public or private property, or obstructing traffic, participants are prosecuted under the chapters of the Criminal Code related to these crimes, the penalties for which reach up to years of effective imprisonment.
Through the “prior authorization” system, not the “license,” the legislator aims to enable the administrative authorities to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of demonstrators and other citizens, regulate traffic, and secure property, which confirms that exercising the right to protest is met with a clear legal responsibility.
Source:My press
