Students in Casablanca are organizing a sit-in in front of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy to protest the violent intervention by law enforcement that forcibly dispersed a similar sit-in by medical students in Rabat on Wednesday evening. This demonstration aims to condemn the violence inflicted on their peers and to highlight the slow response from authorities regarding their demands.
The medical students from Casablanca plan to hold a warning sit-in accompanied by an overnight vigil outside their faculty, scheduled for Thursday from 6 PM until Friday morning at 7 AM. This action seeks to denounce the repression they face and the ongoing delays in addressing their grievances.
The students explained that their decision to stage this sit-in is a direct reaction to “the repressive and violent intervention faced by our colleagues and brothers from the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat, along with their families, characterized by beatings, insults, and acts of violence that left some requiring hospitalization and others arrested, all within an atmosphere of terror and injustice.”
According to the students, this nighttime warning sit-in also responds to the prolonged delays in addressing the challenges faced by medical students in Morocco, which have persisted for over nine months.
Families of the protesting students fear that a repeat of the previous evening’s events may occur, targeting the students in Casablanca in an attempt to prevent them from carrying out their nighttime sit-in.
This call for a sit-in is not exclusive to the Casablanca students; medical students in Marrakech have also announced plans for a sit-in at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in their city on Friday, in addition to a demonstration scheduled for Thursday at the university hospital.
The heavy-handed response to disperse the medical students’ sit-in outside the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy in Rabat on Wednesday evening has ignited widespread outrage among various organizations and activists. They have condemned the use of violence against students who are peacefully protesting to advocate for the quality of their education.
Social media has been inundated with images and videos of this violent intervention, which resulted in injuries and arrests, alongside comments decrying how authorities treated students who have been advocating for fair demands for nearly a year. This excessive use of force is expected to escalate tensions rather than lead to resolutions that restore stability within the faculties of medicine and pharmacy.
The National Committee of Internal Medicine Residents expressed its profound dissatisfaction regarding what it sees as a blatant violation of the rights of medical students to express themselves peacefully following the brutal dismantling of their sit-in, which caused injuries among the protesters.
In a statement, the Committee of Internal Medicine Residents asserted that this egregious attack on student rights not only represents a significant deterioration in the right to peaceful expression but also contributes to escalating tensions within the health and education sectors in Morocco.
“This behavior exceeds all acceptable limits and undermines the principles of freedom and dignity guaranteed by the Constitution and international laws. We express our total and unconditional solidarity with our fellow medical students and call on the authorities to fulfill their legal and moral responsibilities to protect student rights and hold accountable all those involved in this aggression,” the statement concluded.
The National Committee of Doctors, Pharmacists, and Dentists, affiliated with the Moroccan Labor Union, has issued a strong condemnation in a statement regarding the reliance on a security approach rather than genuine negotiations to resolve an ongoing issue that has persisted for several months. The committee has also called for the immediate release of all students detained after the dispersal of their nighttime sit-in.
In this context, the Student Space of the Progressive and Socialist Party has expressed that the treatment of medical students is an unexpected and unacceptable development. It reflects a continued reliance on a security approach in managing the social and economic crises facing the country. This situation contradicts constitutional principles, particularly those concerning freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, indicating a troubling shift.
Students from the Progressive and Socialist Party assert that this unprecedented and unjustified intervention by law enforcement represents a continuation of the struggle for future doctors, which has persisted for nearly a year due to the inertia shown by the Ministries of Higher Education and Health in addressing their demands.
