Moroccan Woman Escapes Decade of Domestic Abuse, Husband Sentenced

Exasperated, a Moroccan woman finally filed a complaint against her 41-year-old husband for domestic violence. The man made her live in hell between 2013 and 2024. "It’s the complete cocktail of domestic violence, there are all the ingredients," points out the prosecutor, before listing the violence. These are verbal, physical, psychological and sexual violence. The plaintiff almost died after another argument for a "ridiculous reason" that ended in insults and blows until a strangulation attempt, reports La Dépêche du Midi. At the bar, the defendant tries to justify himself: "I had drunk alcohol and taken cocaine." This only aggravates his case.

The 41-year-old man is a repeat offender. "The first slap was when she was pregnant with your first child in 2013," the president reminds the defendant. His wife, with whom he had three children, wanted to divorce him. But the defendant saw this in a bad light: he blackmailed her with suicide and "took advantage of the isolation of his wife whose family lives in Morocco." "Violence is your mode of communication," the prosecutor tells him, indicating that if the 3, 6 and 10 year old children did not directly witness the scenes of violence, they heard the screams. "It’s violent for them to hear the cries. You’ve messed up your kids."

"I regret, I’m paying the price today," says this delivery driver on sick leave. The lawyer for his wife is outraged: "We have the impression that he is the victim." According to her, he would have put pressure on his client to obtain sexual relations.

Following the prosecutor’s requisitions, the Castres criminal court sentenced the defendant on Tuesday, March 3 to 2 years in prison, including 1 year suspended probation for 2 years including an obligation of care and to attend at his own expense a course against domestic violence. The firm part of the sentence would be served at home under electronic bracelet.