Moroccan Drug Trafficking Trial Heats Up as Defense and Prosecution Clash

The "Desert Escobar" case, in which several personalities are involved, including the former president of the Casablanca prefectural council, Saïd Naciri, and the former president of the Oriental regional council, Abdenbi Bioui, has not finished revealing its secrets. At Friday’s hearing, the defense of Saïd Naciri and the representative of the public prosecutor had a heated exchange on certain requests previously rejected.

"The lawyers for the defense of Saïd Naciri had filed certain requests that they considered decisive to elucidate the case and highlight the contradictions recorded in certain statements of Haj Ben Brahim, also nicknamed "The Malian", and his ex-wife Latifa Raafat," reports the daily Assabah.

The defense of Naciri points out that, in an initial statement, Haj Ben Brahim had claimed that Latifa Raafat had organized on December 17, 2013, at her home, a dinner to celebrate their marriage. Later, he changed his version, claiming that the dinner was in fact a meeting between Saïd Naciri and a drug trafficker from the North.

However, point out the lawyers of Naciri, "the marriage certificate of Latifa Raafat and Haj Ben Brahim is dated January 16, 2014". As proof, they provided the court with a copy of the marriage certificate. "Highlighting these contradictions, the lawyers for Naciri’s defense asked the court to summon the Malian to the stand to testify," informs the daily. A request that was rejected by the public prosecutor, specifying that "the Malian is not a witness in the case, but has constituted himself a civil party".