Intermediary in Moroccan Surgeon’s Human Trafficking Case Faces Intense Questioning

The confrontation between Zineb B., an intermediary recruited for her ability to convince and collect donations, and an employee of the Chifaa clinic gave way to the hearing of the former, which lasted four hours last Friday. She was questioned about the money transfers, intended to pay the costs of the surgical operations, to her personal account. In response, the main accused declared that "as the employee with whom she was dealing with this file had refused to give her the bank account number of the clinic," she was "forced to transfer the donations from the benefactors to her own account," reports the Arabic daily Al Ahdath Al Maghribia.

Zineb B. assured that she has the receipts of the payments from the donors, as well as invoices proving that "the sums of money collected corresponded well to those paid to the Achifaa clinic". Responding to questions about the needy patients who received care in the clinic and whose photos were sent to the benefactors, the accused again assured that she "acted in good faith, but that she had been wrong". The Court decided to postpone the hearing to Thursday, November 2 at the end of this interrogation.

During the confrontation between Zineb B. and an employee of the Chifaa clinic, the magistrate Ali Tarchi questioned the main accused about a telephone recording in which she was soliciting money from the agent also prosecuted in this case. In response, she made the judge believe that the employee owed her money and she was trying to get reimbursed. A "lie" dismantled by the agent who assured that it was in fact Zineb’s commission, set at 20%.

Dr. Tazi, his brother, his wife and five other people are separately accused of human trafficking, exploitation of the vulnerability of people for commercial purposes, fraud against benefactors acting in good faith, falsification of treatment invoices and medical records, exploitation of minors suffering from chronic illness, forgery and use of forgeries and the constitution of a criminal gang. The criminal chamber of the court of first instance of the court of appeal in Casablanca had rejected on April