Mouhcine Fikri ( ar, محسن فكري, Tamazight ⵎⵓⵃⵙⵉⵏ ⴼⵉⴽⵔⵉ 'muḥsin fikrī') was a Moroccan fish vendor from

Al Hoceima Al Hoceima ( ber, translit=Lḥusima, label= Riffian-Berber, ⵍⵃⵓⵙⵉⵎⴰ; ar, الحسيمة; '' es, Alhucemas'') is a Riffian city in the north of Morocco, on the northern edge of the Rif Mountains and on the Mediterranean coast. It i ...

. On October 28, 2016, a police officer confiscated 500 kg of

swordfish Swordfish (''Xiphias gladius''), also known as broadbills in some countries, are large, highly migratory predatory fish characterized by a long, flat, pointed bill. They are a popular sport fish of the billfish category, though elusive. Swordfis ...

that he had purchased from Al Hoceima port. When Fikri climbed into the back of a rubbish truck to retrieve the confiscated fish, worth over $11,000, the rubbish crusher mechanism was activated, crushing him to death. A witness is said to have heard the police officers involved order the crusher to be activated, leading to the man's death. Video footage of his death was widely played on social media in

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. Outrage led to protests in Al Hoceima, that spread across Morocco. Fikri's death drew parallels with the suicide of Mohamed Bouazizi, the Tunisian fruit seller whose death in 2010 sparked protests in

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, leading both to revolution there and to the wider

Arab Spring The Arab Spring ( ar, الربيع العربي) was a series of Nonviolent resistance, anti-government protests, Rebellion, uprisings and Insurgency, armed rebellions that spread across much of the Arab world in the early 2010s. It began in T ...

References

{{Reflist 2016 in Morocco October 2016 events in Africa 2010s murders in Morocco 2016 crimes in Morocco 2016 murders in Africa Fikri, Mouhcine Riffian people