Moroccan-Canadian Sentenced to 2 Years for Assaulting Officer in Morocco

Three other people involved were also convicted: the husband of "C. B.", "B. M.", to one year in prison, as well as his brother-in-law "D. M." and a fourth man, "B. S.", to six months in prison each. The case had as its starting point a dispute related to goods from illegal street vending that were seized by the authorities.

The four convicted individuals had gone there that day to the administrative annex number 7 to claim the confiscated goods from "D. M.". The refusal of the caïd "N. A." to immediately return them provoked a dispute that quickly escalated into an altercation.

Elements of the investigation, including a video filmed by an auxiliary, indicate that insults may have been hurled before the physical assault. As the caïd tried to contact the police in the face of the group’s refusal to comply, "C. B." was filming the scene. It was when the official allegedly tried to prevent her from doing so that she allegedly delivered two slaps to him. The four individuals then allegedly tried to flee by car, without success. The caïd was issued a medical certificate for injuries resulting in 30 days off work.

During the arrest that followed, a marked resistance marked by material damage at the police station and repeated insults towards the law enforcement officers was reported. The four defendants, placed in custody, were prosecuted for rebellion, insulting a public official in the performance of their duties, and physical assault, offenses under Articles 263, 267 and 300 of the Penal Code.

Heard by the judicial police, "C. B.", 25 years old, presented her version of the facts. She claimed that her husband "B. M.", who had come to claim his brother-in-law’s merchandise, had been a victim of "violence and sequestration" by the caïd. She admitted to a physical altercation with the latter - speaking of punches and not slaps - explaining that she had acted in self-defense when he tried to prevent her from filming. She specified: "I could not stand to see my husband being assaulted, so I filmed the incident with my phone. But the caïd tried to prevent me by force, which pushed me to defend myself."