Death penalty

Articles

• Morocco’s Top Court Orders Review of Dutch Nationals’ Death Sentences in Marrakech Cafe Murder Case
  1 August 2024, by Said

  Sentenced to death in Morocco in 2017 for a murder committed by mistake at the Café la Crème in Marrakech, two Dutch nationals could see their fate improve. The highest Moroccan court has referred the case back to the Casablanca Court of Appeal, considering that the cooperative attitude of the two men had not been sufficiently taken into account in their initial conviction.
  Shadyone S. and Edwin R.M. had admitted their guilt and revealed the identity of the sponsors of the murder, which (…)

• Landmark 1963 Trial: 5,000 Moroccan Opposition Activists Accused of Conspiracy Against Monarchy
  5 August 2019, by Kamal

  The most famous trials, which marked the 1960s and 1970s, condemned freedom of expression and targeted the opposition that the monarchical regime considered a threat, in particular the two leading opposition parties, the current Union of Socialist Forces (USFP) and the National Union of Moroccan Students (UNEM).
  On July 16, 1963, the country experienced the most famous political trial in its history. 5,000 USFP activists were prosecuted on charges of conspiracy against the regime and (…)

• Amnesty International Urges Morocco to Abolish Death Penalty Despite Declining Sentences
  12 April 2019, by Bladi.net

  In Morocco as well as internationally, death sentences are declining. This is what emerges from the annual report presented on April 10, 2019, by Amnesty International on the death penalty in the world. This international organization that is committed to respecting human rights is inviting Morocco to make a little more effort.
  According to the Amnesty International (AI) report, this year several indicators suggest that Morocco has made efforts. But it will have to go much further. (…)

• Morocco’s Human Rights Chief Calls for End to Death Penalty, Citing Constitutional Protections
  27 February 2021, by Ginette

  The President of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) welcomed the fight led by human rights defenders against the death penalty in Morocco. During a meeting held under the theme "human rights violations related to the application of the death penalty, Amina Bouayach recalled the need to protect and ensure the right to life for all Moroccans.
  The question of the abolition or not of the death penalty has been so agitated in recent months, in the face of the barbarity of certain crimes, (…)

• Morocco’s High Court Upholds Death Sentences in Scandinavian Tourists’ Murder Case
  24 April 2021, by Jonas

  The Court of Cassation recently confirmed the death penalty for the three perpetrators of the murder of the two young Scandinavian tourists, reports kech24, citing sources close to the case, also specifying that the 20-year sentence was confirmed against the Spanish-Swiss, Kevin Zoller.
  The main perpetrators, Younès Ouziyad, Rachid Afadi and Abderrahmane Khayali, had been tried in July 2019 and were sentenced to death by the anti-terrorism court in Salé. In the same case, some 21 (…)

• Morocco Grapples with Death Penalty Debate on World Day Against Capital Punishment
  10 October 2020, by Ginette

  The international community is celebrating October 10th, the World Day Against the Death Penalty. For a few years now, Morocco has been moving towards its abolition, even though death sentences have been handed down for certain crimes.
  Human rights organizations never miss an opportunity to remind of the need to preserve human life. Those who demand the death penalty for crimes as atrocious as the rape and murder of minors do not lack arguments. The schools of thought on the death penalty (…)

• Dutch Duo Sentenced to Death in Marrakech Café Shooting Case
  27 July 2019, by Bladi.net

  At the end of this controversial "La Crème" café affair that shook the ochre city, the verdict of the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal of Marrakech did not mince words. Indeed, on the night of Friday, July 26 to Saturday, July 27, 2019, this court ordered the death penalty against the two Dutch murderers.
  Death penalty for Robles Martinez, aged 26, and for Gregoria Semeril, 31 years old. This is the verdict pronounced, after several months of trial against the two Dutch murderers (…)

• Morocco Debates Death Penalty for Child Rapists After Tragic Murder in Tangier
  6 October 2020, by Ginette

  The rape and murder of young Adnane in Tangier has prompted many Moroccans to demand that the justice system apply the death penalty to the person found guilty of this atrocious crime. Although shocked by the nature of the crime, the president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH) maintains her position on the abolition of the death penalty.
  The CNDH recalls that "the right to life is the primary right of every human being. The law protects this right" and that "the physical or (…)

• Morocco’s Death Row Population Rises to 76, Including Terrorism Convicts
  11 December 2021, by Armel

  In 2020, Morocco had 76 inmates on death row, 9 more than in 2019, according to data from the public prosecutor’s office.
  Among them, two women and 19 were convicted of terrorist attacks that caused the death of 158 people, the latest report from the Presidency of the Public Prosecutor’s Office published this week said.
  The report stresses that the judiciary only resorts to this sentence in "cases of extreme necessity", when the crime has a significant impact on the safety and security (…)

• French Terror Suspects on Death Row in Morocco Since 1994 Hotel Attack
  21 May 2019, by Kamal

  Several French nationals are on the waiting list of those sentenced to death penalty around the world. In Morocco, two Frenchmen have been languishing on death row since 1994.
  Incarcerated in Fez and then in Salé before being transferred to the Kenitra prison, the two French of Algerian and Moroccan origin had been behind the attack carried out at the Asni hotel in Marrakech in 1994. They had burst into the hotel, killing two Spanish tourists and seriously injuring a French tourist on (…)