Years of Lead (Morocco)

The Years of Lead (Arabic: سنوات الرصاص, romanized: Sanawāt ar-Raṣāṣ) was a period of the rule of King Hassan II of Morocco, from roughly the 1960s through the 1980s, marked by state violence and repression against political dissidents and democracy activists.

Several independent human rights organizations have formed to investigate the impact of state repression during the years of rule and to press claims for damages suffered.

While this is almost unprecedented in the Arab world, the ERC's actual independence from the current administration and its ability to reach culprits in the Moroccan elite, known as the "makhzen", has been seriously disputed.

[4] On January 6, 2006, King Mohammed VI expressed regret for the human rights abuses that had occurred during his father's reign and spoke of the need for lessons to be drawn from the past.

[5] The commission's work, and the emotional legacy of the Years of Lead on four families, is also explored in the 2008 documentary film Our Forbidden Places (Nos lieux interdits).