Construction worker shot dead by the Gendarmerie Royale during GenZ212 protests in Morocco
Name(s):
Abdelhakim Darfidi
Status:
Deceased
Year of birth:
1990
Profession:
Construction worker
Nationality:
Moroccan
Abdelhakim Darfidi was a 35-year-old construction worker who lived in Leqliâa, Morocco, before being fatally shot by the Gendarmeri Royale on October 1, 2025, during the GenZ212 protests as he was cycling home from work.
Abdelhakim Darfidi was a 35-year-old construction worker who lived in Leqliaa before being shot dead by the Gendarmerie Royale during a GenZ212 protest as he was cycling home from work.
On October 1, 2025, a GenZ212 demonstration took place in front of the Gendarmerie Royale in Leqliâa, against a backdrop of socio-economic discontent exacerbated by the precariousness and lack of adequate health infrastructure affecting the region. In response to the events, tear gas grenades were first thrown from the building. Between eight and ten gendarmes then left the premises and fired shots in several directions, which continued during pursuits in the surrounding streets.
According to the investigation conducted by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), Abdelhakim Darfidi was returning from work on his bicycle and had taken a secondary route because the main road was blocked. He was fatally shot in a side alley, outside the immediate perimeter of the brigade headquarters, during an operation to pursue demonstrators. Abdelhakim Darfidi was simply passing by and posed no threat to the police.
The family was not informed of the death until the following day, October 2, 2025, at around 10:00 a.m., after searching several hospitals. They finally learned that Darfidi was at Hassan II Hospital in Agadir. The body was not returned to the family until October 3.
The intervention by the gendarmes on October 1, 2025 resulted in a total of three deaths: Abdelhakim Darfidi, Abdessamade Oubalat and Mohamed Rahali, and at least twelve injuries, several of them from live ammunition.
An investigation was opened and entrusted to the Royal Gendarmerie, raising serious questions about its independence. On October 2, 2025, the King's Attorney General justified the use of weapons as self-defence during a press conference. Since then, the families have received no information on the progress of the investigation and the autopsy results have never been disclosed to them, despite repeated requests. According to the AMDH, the injuries observed, particularly on the backs of the three victims, are incompatible with a situation of self-defence and indicate a disproportionate use of force.
No precautionary measures have been announced against the officers involved, whether in the form of administrative suspension, withdrawal of weapons or the initiation of disciplinary proceedings. No public commitment has been made to prosecute those directly responsible or their superiors, nor to establish mechanisms for redress for the families.
In February 2026, the AMDH and MENA Rights Group referred the matter to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, asking them to raise the issue with the Moroccan authorities. They asked them to call on the Moroccan authorities to clarify the circumstances of the deaths and to ensure that independent, impartial and effective investigations were opened, in accordance with international human rights law and the Minnesota Protocol.
| Name(s): |
Abdelhakim Darfidi
|
| Status: |
Deceased
|
| Year of birth: |
1990
|
| Profession: |
Construction worker
|
| Nationality: |
Moroccan
|
Abdelhakim Darfidi was a 35-year-old construction worker who lived in Leqliaa before being shot dead by the Gendarmerie Royale during a GenZ212 protest as he was cycling home from work.
On October 1, 2025, a GenZ212 demonstration took place in front of the Gendarmerie Royale in Leqliâa, against a backdrop of socio-economic discontent exacerbated by the precariousness and lack of adequate health infrastructure affecting the region. In response to the events, tear gas grenades were first thrown from the building. Between eight and ten gendarmes then left the premises and fired shots in several directions, which continued during pursuits in the surrounding streets.
According to the investigation conducted by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), Abdelhakim Darfidi was returning from work on his bicycle and had taken a secondary route because the main road was blocked. He was fatally shot in a side alley, outside the immediate perimeter of the brigade headquarters, during an operation to pursue demonstrators. Abdelhakim Darfidi was simply passing by and posed no threat to the police.
The family was not informed of the death until the following day, October 2, 2025, at around 10:00 a.m., after searching several hospitals. They finally learned that Darfidi was at Hassan II Hospital in Agadir. The body was not returned to the family until October 3.
The intervention by the gendarmes on October 1, 2025 resulted in a total of three deaths: Abdelhakim Darfidi, Abdessamade Oubalat and Mohamed Rahali, and at least twelve injuries, several of them from live ammunition.
An investigation was opened and entrusted to the Royal Gendarmerie, raising serious questions about its independence. On October 2, 2025, the King's Attorney General justified the use of weapons as self-defence during a press conference. Since then, the families have received no information on the progress of the investigation and the autopsy results have never been disclosed to them, despite repeated requests. According to the AMDH, the injuries observed, particularly on the backs of the three victims, are incompatible with a situation of self-defence and indicate a disproportionate use of force.
No precautionary measures have been announced against the officers involved, whether in the form of administrative suspension, withdrawal of weapons or the initiation of disciplinary proceedings. No public commitment has been made to prosecute those directly responsible or their superiors, nor to establish mechanisms for redress for the families.
In February 2026, the AMDH and MENA Rights Group referred the matter to the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on extrajudicial executions and on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, asking them to raise the issue with the Moroccan authorities. They asked them to call on the Moroccan authorities to clarify the circumstances of the deaths and to ensure that independent, impartial and effective investigations were opened, in accordance with international human rights law and the Minnesota Protocol.
