A young hairdresser killed by the shots of the Gendarmerie Royale during GenZ212 protests
Name(s):
Mohamed Rahali
Status:
Deceased
Year of birth:
2000
Profession:
Hairdresser
Nationality:
Moroccan
Mohamed Rahali was a 25-year-old hairdresser living in Leqliâa, Morocco. He was fatally shot by the Gendarmerie Royale on October 1, 2025, during the GenZ212 protests while riding his bicycle.
Mohamed Rahali was a 25-year-old hairdresser living in Leqliâa, Morocco. He was fatally shot by the Gendarmerie Royale on October 1, 2025, during the GenZ212 protests.
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.
Mohamed Rahali was riding his bicycle that night in an alley near the Gendarmerie Royale where a GenZ212 movement demonstration was taking place when he was shot by the authorities. According to the investigation by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), he posed no threat at the time of the incident.
Rahali's family learned of his death through a video circulating on social media on the evening of 1 October. They did not receive official confirmation of his death until noon the following day, after searching several hospitals. They were denied access to the autopsy report on the grounds of ‘investigative secrecy’ and Rahali's personal effects remain in custody for ‘expert analysis’.
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): |
Mohamed Rahali
|
| Status: |
Deceased
|
| Year of birth: |
2000
|
| Profession: |
Hairdresser
|
| Nationality: |
Moroccan
|
Mohamed Rahali was a 25-year-old hairdresser living in Leqliâa, Morocco. He was fatally shot by the Gendarmerie Royale on October 1, 2025, during the GenZ212 protests.
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.
Mohamed Rahali was riding his bicycle that night in an alley near the Gendarmerie Royale where a GenZ212 movement demonstration was taking place when he was shot by the authorities. According to the investigation by the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), he posed no threat at the time of the incident.
Rahali's family learned of his death through a video circulating on social media on the evening of 1 October. They did not receive official confirmation of his death until noon the following day, after searching several hospitals. They were denied access to the autopsy report on the grounds of ‘investigative secrecy’ and Rahali's personal effects remain in custody for ‘expert analysis’.
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.
