Moroccan Mayor Sentenced for Urging Ramadan Curfew Violation During Pandemic

Mitigating circumstance for Mekki El Hannoudi. While he risked one to three months in prison and a fine of 300 to 1,300 DH or one of these penalties, the mayor of Louta was sentenced to two months’ imprisonment with a suspended sentence and a fine of 500 DH. The court of first instance in Al Hoceïma thus showed leniency.

"Residents of the commune of Louta, as president of this locality and, therefore, in charge of the administrative police as stipulated by the law and regulations in force, I authorize you to continue to circulate on my territory and go to the cafes for the breaking of the fast at 11 pm..." This is the message that Mekki El Hannoudi had posted on his Facebook page on April 7, thus calling on his constituents to violate the curfew.

The public prosecutor’s office in Al Hoceïma had opened an investigation against the elected official. He will be questioned and then placed in custody at the gendarmerie headquarters in Imzouren. He will then be heard by the royal gendarmerie and an investigating judge. According to the public prosecutor’s office, Mekki El Hannoudi violated the health measures enacted to curb the spread of coronavirus and its variants in the kingdom. Hence, his conviction before the criminal chamber of the court of first instance of the same city.