The customary marriage that turned into a nightmare in Marrakech for a Moroccan woman

This release comes after the "husband", a Saudi investor, was forced to withdraw his complaint. The case had shocked public opinion, as the plaintiff, a 32-year-old woman, had ended up in prison, while the man she accused remained free. She had been prosecuted for theft, an offense that does not legally apply between spouses.

The case began when the young woman (L.B.), from Marrakech, met the investor (M.B.H.), who has been living in Morocco for about twenty years, recalls Achkayen. He proposed marriage to her, which was celebrated in a customary manner (zawaj al-fatiha), apparently in the presence of two adouls (religious notaries). The plaintiff later discovered that it was a "well-orchestrated scam" and that the union had never been officially registered.

Details of the complaint for exploitation

According to the statements of the victim, a divorced mother of one child, her "husband" would have exploited her in a degrading manner. She also claims that the businessman reneged on his promise to register his luxury villa in her name after the marriage, adding that he had evicted her and her son from the home, preventing them from retrieving their personal belongings, and that he had threatened her.

When the public prosecutor organized a confrontation, the Saudi businessman denied all the accusations. He claimed that the relationship was "totally consensual" and that the conflict was simply a "marital dispute". He was released, while the young woman had been placed in pre-trial detention for theft.