Dutch-Moroccan Woman Says She Was Assaulted in Tangier and Threatened in the Netherlands
A Dutch woman of Moroccan origin says she was violently assaulted in Tangier and later threatened in her country of residence. Her lawyer even alleges there was a plan to blow up her home. Moroccan courts have handed down a first conviction, while the main suspect remains at large.
Five months in prison and 20,000 dirhams in compensation. On Thursday, October 8, a Tangier court issued its first ruling in a case dating back to June 2024. Mohammed, who was arrested last May, was found guilty of failing to report a crime but acquitted of the charge of participating in an attempted rape. The complainant, a young woman living in the Netherlands identified by the initials A.A., is still waiting for the main suspect to be found.
It all allegedly began in an apartment in the Panorama residential complex, in the upscale Malabata district. The young woman says she went there with a friend who had come from Casablanca. Two men were waiting inside. One of them, named Bilal, allegedly punched her in the face after she refused to have sex with him.
The blow allegedly fractured her jaw and knocked out several teeth. According to her account, the two men then took her to a private clinic before abandoning her near Plaza Toro square, more than two kilometers from the apartment.
“He threatened to blow up her home in the Netherlands”
The pressure allegedly did not stop there. According to statements made by her lawyer before the Moroccan court, the main suspect threatened the complainant and her family to get her to withdraw her complaint. He reportedly mentioned the possibility of blowing up her home in the Netherlands, the Dutch daily De Telegraaf reports.
The lawyer also accused those in charge of the residential complex of failing to hand over surveillance footage that could shed light on the circumstances of the assault.
Mohammed’s defense disputes the complainant’s account in its entirety. His lawyer denounced the case as entirely fabricated, pointing to contradictions between the young woman’s statements and those of her friend. He says the accusations stem from a personal dispute involving people who had previously stayed in the Netherlands and Dubai.
The main suspect, Bilal, is still being sought. According to the hearing report published in Tangier, the complainant identifies him as the perpetrator of the assault and the reported attempted rape.
