Carcassonne Exhumes Moroccan Veteran’s Remains Without Family Consent, Sparking Outrage

An unbelievable fact! Buried in 1997 in the Conte cemetery, the body of Moha Aziz Karkour, a former Moroccan rifleman who fought alongside France, was recently exhumed without his family’s knowledge. It was on December 4 that Mohammed Karkour and his mother discovered by chance the remains of the deceased stored in a box, outside his concession. "My mother goes there periodically. About once every six months. That day, she wanted to show my brother where my uncle was buried," recounts Mohammed to L’Indépendant. Shocked, they turned to two municipal employees present on site. The body of the Moroccan expatriate was exhumed "without prior notice or respect for legal procedures," notes the deceased’s nephew. "They exhumed it and put its bones in a small box next to its location. It’s a horrific scene. We can’t imagine taking a body out of a grave in such a dehumanizing way, without the slightest mark of respect. Without the religious authorities or the families being present [...] We judge a civilization by the way it treats its dead. Here, we are at ground zero," he fumes.

The municipal employees explained to them that a municipal decree had been posted on a panel at the entrance to the cemetery. The document states that the temporary concessions of eight deceased, including his uncle’s, which have expired, will be taken over by the City, failing renewal. "The remains of the persons buried in the land thus taken back will be exhumed and deposited in the communal ossuary of the cemetery," it is specified in the document. Following this discovery, the cemetery manager gives them a 24-hour ultimatum to take the necessary steps to move the body. The family’s request to repurchase the concession was met with the manager’s refusal. "Even more alarming, she demanded payment of the exhumation costs, showing a shocking insensitivity to the abominable act she has committed [...] She tells us that my uncle’s free-of-charge concession has been expired since 2002. This is false. I’m sure we paid for this location. I’m convinced of it. It was definitely not a donation, it’s a location that we purchased. Unfortunately, we no longer have any proof of this purchase..." continues Mohammed.

Moha Aziz Karkour was indeed buried in a "common area", made available free of charge for a period of five years (1997-2002, editor’s note), the City claims to the same media. "It’s all verifiable on the cemetery plan," it is specified. The community also claims to have tried to contact the deceased’s family. Without success. "We sent a letter to the Carcassonne mosque: our letter remained unanswered. We had no way of locating the family, as we only had the death certificate and an address dating back nearly thirty years." For his part, Mohammed, who expresses his dismay, wishes to initiate legal proceedings. "No plaque was placed on his grave to warn us of the inevitable exhumation. This is a legal obligation for a minimum period of one year. This was not respected. Strangely, it appeared as if by magic a few days after our discovery. Moreover, no formal notification, whether by mail, by bailiff or any other means, was sent to us. We are considering initiating legal proceedings to assert our rights," he sighs.

In the meantime, the remains of Moha Aziz Karkour are about to be repatriated and buried in Morocco. The city is accompanying the steps taken by the deceased’s relatives in this direction.