Background and career
Nasser Zefzafi (Standard Moroccan Tamazight: ⵏⴰⵚⵕ ⵣⵣⴼⵣⴰⴼⵉ, romanized: Naṣer Ezzefzafi; Arabic: ناصر الزفزافي, born on November 4, 1979, in Al Hoceima) is a Moroccan political and human rights activist. He led a popular movement known as the Hirak Rif, which carried out a series of non-violent protests across the country.
On May 29, 2017, Zefzafi was arrested by the Moroccan police and charged with a list of crimes that included undermining state security, disrespecting the king, and receiving funds from abroad used for plots to destabilize the country. On June 26, 2018, he received a 20-year imprisonment along with the other political activists after numerous cancelled trials since their detention. The verdict created waves of social discontent and sparked outrage among Moroccans, including a wave of protests across the country.
Zefzafi has been compared to several resistance figures, including being called the "Moroccan Gandhi" for his non-violent civil disobedience, as well as being likened to the anti-colonial Rifian leader Abd el-Krim Al-Khattabi.
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