Algeria Withholds Body of Moroccan Jet Skier Killed in Border Incident

Lost on a jet ski off Algeria, Moroccan Abdelali Mchiouer, 40, a merchant in France and father of a 5-year-old child, was killed by the Algerian coast guards on August 29. His cousin, Franco-Moroccan Bilal Kissi, 29, met the same fate. They were accompanied by Mohamed Kissi, 33, Bilal’s brother, who was rescued by the Moroccan coast guards who were searching for them, and their friend Smaïl Snabi, arrested and then sentenced to 18 months in prison in Algeria. While Bilal’s funeral has already taken place in Bni Drar, near Oujda, Abdelali’s remains uncertain. To date, his body, kept in the morgue in Tlemcen, Algeria, has still not been returned to the family despite the steps taken by Hakim Chergui, the lawyer representing the families of the two victims.

As a result, the relatives of the two victims have not been able to mourn because "another son is on the other side of the border and they do not know when they will be able to bury him," he reports. The delay in the restitution of the body is due to Algeria’s unilateral rupture of its relations with Morocco. "There is no contact between Morocco and Algeria, which explains why Algeria is slow to repatriate Abdelali Mchiouer’s remains," justifies the lawyer. He continues: "the diplomatic tensions between the two countries have not allowed to speed up the administrative and judicial procedures necessary. The murdered young man should not be a victim of the diplomatic dispute between the two countries."

Hakim Chergui also insists that the Mchiouer family is only seeking the truth and justice, the version of the facts provided by the Algerian Ministry of Defense being in contradiction with that of Mohamed Kissi, 33, one of the vacationers who was spared. However, "the body must first be returned to the family so that it can be buried with dignity," he adds. "The Algerian behavior is so far totally incomprehensible for the family. The coast guards cannot shoot at unarmed young men lost at sea and lacking fuel, so the fundamental demand is to return the body as soon as possible," Mustapha Mchiouer, the victim’s father, will say.

"Justice will take its course in this case, but the body must be buried with dignity, and that is what Algeria must take into account," he adds. Hakim Chergui had filed a complaint in France for "aggravated murder, attempted aggravated murder, hijacking and failure to assist a person in danger". The Oujda prosecutor’s office had ordered the opening of an investigation to determine the circumstances "of a violent incident at sea". France has also opened an investigation for voluntary homicide, which "should in particular make it possible to have a legal framework to collect elements."