Moroccan Man Faces Trial for 2005 Toddler Murder in Belgium

Théa Gramtine, a 2-year-old baby, died on November 10, 2005 in a hospital following the fatal blows inflicted on her by Mounir Kiouh, her mother’s new partner, in the family apartment in Namur. Jennifer Devos was absent at the time of the events. For 15 years, she and her ex-in-laws have been fighting for justice to be done. In Belgium, the alleged murderer had been placed under an arrest warrant, then released after 18 months of preventive detention. He had appeared free before the Namur correctional court in June 2011, and had been sentenced to 15 years in prison for intentional assault and battery resulting in death without intent. Dissatisfied, he appealed. He will be sentenced in absentia to the same sentence on appeal on December 22, 2011. Five days later, he leaves for Morocco.

The family of little Théa feels "abandoned by the Belgian justice system in which" they "no longer have confidence". Mounir Kiouh thought he had gotten away with it, because Morocco does not extradite its nationals. However, according to the Moroccan Judicial Code, any Moroccan who has committed a crime abroad and is present on the territory of the kingdom can be prosecuted there, provided that the judgment is not final. Aware of this opening, Jennifer Devos and the ex-in-laws went to Tétouan, Morocco, in 2019. Objective: to file a complaint. The MRE will be arrested, indicted for the murder of a minor child, then incarcerated. "If we hadn’t had him arrested, he could have come back to Belgium this year due to prescription."

"We had to spend money to obtain a copy of the documents, before filing this 20-kilo file, containing 3,000 pages, ourselves with the Moroccan judicial authorities," the family of the little victim told L’Avenir. The trial of Mounir Kiouh, 40, opens before the Tétouan court. The family regrets not being able to go to Morocco to attend the hearing due to the unavailability of planes. "We regret not being able to go, but we would like justice to be done at last, that the trial not be postponed for several months. We would also like him to admit what he did, even though we think he will never acknowledge having killed our little Théa. He has no empathy. Even when we showed him autopsy photos, he turned them as if he was reading the newspaper..."

"I think I’ll never get over it. I live with this guilt all the time. I’ll never forget, but I’d be relieved to think that he’ll pay for what he did, that he’ll be punished for the acts he committed. [...] All I want is for him to stay in prison, to serve the heaviest possible sentence for having destroyed an entire family. We often say that time heals pain, but that’s not the case. I have so much sadness. But I don’t wish him to die, it won’t bring my baby back," said Théa’s mother.