French-Moroccan Jet Skier’s Family Pleads for Help After Algerian Prison Sentence

It is difficult for Israa, Ismail Snabi’s wife, her children and Hafida Zerqi, the mother of the 27-year-old Franco-Moroccan vehicle inspector working in Bondy and living in Clichy-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis), to live peacefully since the incarceration in Algeria of the Franco-Moroccan. On August 29, the Algerian navy killed two of the four young vacationers - three Franco-Moroccans and one Moroccan - who had strayed on their jet skis in Algerian maritime space near the Saïdia resort. A fisherman found the body of Bilal Kissi, a 29-year-old Franco-Moroccan national, floating on the Moroccan side. The body of Abdelali Mechaouer, a 40-year-old Moroccan national, was recovered the next day in Algerian waters and taken to the Tlemcen morgue. Mohamed Kissi, on the other hand, was saved by the Moroccan coast guard who were searching for them. Touched, Ismail Snabi was arrested and detained by Algeria, which accuses him of having illegally entered its territory until his conviction to three months in prison for illegal entry into the territory and one year in prison for vehicle smuggling.

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In addition to the prison sentence, the Franco-Moroccan was also fined fifteen million dinars (about 100,000 euros) for having brought the device into the country without having previously declared it. A "incomprehensible" and "severe" judgment for his relatives who nevertheless claim to have provided the authorities with the jet ski papers, reports Le Parisien. "They got lost... They just made a mistake. Nothing separates Algeria from Morocco in the sea," says Israa, who is worried about her husband’s health. "His brother was able to visit him in prison. He has lost a lot of weight, he has lost twenty kilos. He is not well..." she describes. Hafida Zerqi, Ismail Snabi’s mother, says she thinks about it every day. She is especially worried for her three grandchildren. "They cry, they demand their father every night," adds Israa. "I want him to get out. He didn’t do anything. He just went jet skiing," sums up Ismail’s mother, on the verge of tears.

Faced with despair, Ismail’s wife turned to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to obtain assistance or even the repatriation of her husband. Without success. "Neither the consulate, nor anyone has come to visit him in prison," denounces Israa. Yet "he is French, he has French nationality and arrived in Morocco with a French passport, France must do something," she continues. A diplomatic source assures that "the services of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs are closely monitoring the situation of Mr. Snabi." And to add: "Under the consular protection that any French citizen detained abroad can benefit from, several requests have been made to the competent authorities so that our national can benefit from a consular visit."