Moroccan Youths Face Decade in Prison for Chicken Theft, Despite Withdrawn Complaint

According to Alyaoum24, three young people are being prosecuted under arrest for the theft of a chicken. The theft was committed last April. The owner of the chicken, having seen the scale the matter was taking, withdrew his complaint, but they will nevertheless be prosecuted by the competent authorities who wish for a sentence as an example.

Alyaoum24 writes: "It is possible that the sentence could reach 10 years in prison due to a charge against them: the formation of a criminal gang." Other aggravating circumstances are held against them, such as the theft taking place at night.

The details of the facts, which took place in one of the douars near Ouarzazate, are also strange. Three young people want to celebrate Chaâbana, that is to say the cessation of alcohol consumption 40 days before Ramadan. And they were hungry during this evening meant to be pleasant. "And there they are conspiring to steal a chicken, dividing the roles between keeping watch and going to steal the poultry from the victim’s home," writes Alyaoum24.