Morocco Court Convicts Four in Pregnant Woman Coffin Transport Scandal

The verdict was delivered last Thursday. Each of the four accused was sentenced to one month suspended prison sentence, along with an enforceable fine of 500 dirhams. The judgment of the court of first instance of Azilal also includes charging them with court costs, minimum execution, as well as the liquidation of the bail amount they had previously deposited, reports the website Al3omk.

It all started with a direct complaint filed by the caid of Ait Tamlil. He charged the four defendants with "dissemination and distribution of false allegations and facts infringing on people’s privacy and defaming them," in accordance with the provisions of Article 447, paragraph 2, of the Penal Code. The facts they are accused of took place in the mountainous region under the commune of Aït Tamlil, in the province of Azilal, at the end of 2024.

The inhabitants of the douar were forced to transport a pregnant woman writhing in labor pains in a coffin intended for transporting the dead due to the interruption of the road leading to the douar because of construction work. They carried her on their backs for several kilometers through a difficult mountain path. It took them more than two hours to reach an ambulance that was waiting for the woman in a neighboring douar. On the web, this scene sparked outrage among internet users.