The death of Mouhcine Fikri, a Moroccan fish vendor who was crushed alive in a garbage compactor while apparently trying to prevent the destruction of a swordfish that had been taken from him in Al-Hoceima, has sparked outrage after a video of the incident was widely circulated Oct. 28. This unleashed a round of demonstrations.
Moroccan authorities said that the 1,100-pound swordfish Fikri had been selling is banned from sale because it had been declared out of season in an attempt to conserve fish stocks.