Moroccan Royal Family Sues Woman Claiming to be King Hassan II’s Hidden Daughter

Jane Benzaquen has been claiming since 2005 that the late Hassan II had a relationship with her mother Freha, between 1951 and 1953, and that she would be the hidden daughter of the late Moroccan king. Morocco does not believe this story and has just filed a complaint for defamation, reports La Dernière heure. "Being an unwanted child haunts you your whole life. I was full of anger, the past was a Pandora’s box and I didn’t want to open it," she confides to the British newspaper Times.

The Belgian-Israeli woman, who grew up in Belgium, claims not to be the biological daughter of Raoul Jossart, the Belgian recognized in the civil registry as her father. The septuagenarian has called on the services of Marc Uyttendaele, the criminal lawyer who helped Princess Delphine prove that she was the daughter of King Albert of Belgium, to convince Morocco of the veracity of her claims. Mohammed VI did not agree to undergo a DNA test. The criminal complaint for defamation that has just been filed reinforces the kingdom’s position in this case.

Me Stanislas Eskenazi, the lawyer for Morocco in this case, fears an instrumentalization of the Belgian justice system by the lawyer Uyttendaele who would have wished an amicable settlement of the case to avoid "embarrassing the Kingdom of Morocco". According to him, this way of doing things "very much resembles extortion of funds", stressing that Jane could not benefit from the competence of the Belgian courts, given that she resides in Israel. The lawyer of the kingdom is convinced that this "fanciful story is based on nothing".

"Jane Benzaquen waited for the death of her mother, her father and the late His Majesty King Hassan II to bring proceedings, this makes no sense," says Me Eskenazi, who says he does not understand the recent media outings of the Belgian-Israeli woman "which look more like a media flight, devoid of legal basis". The ongoing criminal investigation, initiated by Morocco, will "demonstrate all the maneuvers put in place... to obtain the long-awaited financial compensation," hopes the lawyer who assures that Morocco "will not be intimidated".

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