Moroccan Lawmaker Sentenced to Prison for Corruption, Lawyer Plans Appeal

In addition to the prison sentence, the elected official was fined 800,000 DH and another 500,000 dirhams for the civil party. Dissatisfied with this verdict handed down by the Court of Appeal of Casablanca last Thursday, his lawyer intends to appeal. "This is a judgment that we consider to be aberrant. The defense reserves the right to use the various available remedies and we will appeal and prove the innocence of my client," says Mbarek Mskini.

PPS deputy for the Benslimane constituency, Saïd Zaidi had been arrested in flagrante delicto of corruption in Rabat on October 5, 2021 after a contractor filed a complaint for blackmail against him. At the time of his arrest, the deputy had 400,000 DH in his possession. A certain K.B, a real estate developer, had given him this sum so that he would advance his stalled seaside residence project since 2015.

During the trial, the elected official repeatedly proclaimed his innocence, claiming to have been the victim of a setup. Allegations corroborated, according to his lawyer, by witnesses summoned to the stand. "My client stated in his last word before the court that Karimine (Mhamed Karimine, the former mayor of Bouznika, editor’s note) was behind this setup and had orchestrated everything," added M’barek Meskini at the end of the trial, convinced that the truth will come to light and that Saïd Zaidi will ultimately be acquitted.