The legitimacy of the king Mohammed VI was contested in 2011 with 20 February Movement that attempted to undermine the functioning of the monarchic system.
Protests broke out in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on 2 August 2013, after Mohammed VI pardoned 48 jailed Spaniards, including a pedophile who had been serving a 30-year sentence for raping 11 children aged between 4 and 15.