Military Doctors in Morocco Jailed for Unauthorized Private Practice

The two doctors were caught in the act of practicing medicine outside military establishments. This constitutes a "criminal" act punishable under military law. This prohibits doctors and nurses trained in military institutions from practicing in the private sector or abandoning their workplace, reports the newspaper Assabah.

The two officers were arrested at the beginning of the year following reports from their hierarchy, denouncing their illegal practices outside military hospitals. Despite warnings from their superiors, they persisted in practicing in private clinics, in total violation of the regulations in force.

The two colonel-doctors were brought before the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Military Court by a special unit of the Royal Gendarmerie. They were then detained in the Salé prison for a serious criminal act against the military institution. Witnesses were questioned by the Royal Gendarmerie elements and the investigating judge. The latter sentenced them to one year in prison each.