Across the world, 2025 has been marked by an unmistakable trend: the criminalisation of dissent. From Morocco’s Gen Z 212 movement to Indonesia’s mass youth protests, governments have responded to public anger with policing and prosecution. In Morocco alone, more than 1,500 people now face charges.
Protest, once seen as a democratic instrument, is being recast as a threat to order. As detention becomes the preferred tool of deterrence, the right to assemble is turning into a privilege granted by the state.
