Morocco’s "Escobar" Trial: Pop Star Testifies, Key Suspects Absent

The trial of Saïd Naciri and his co-defendants, prosecuted in the "Escobar of the desert" case, the nickname of the Malian drug trafficker Mohamed Benbrahim, continues before the criminal chamber of the court of first instance at the Casablanca Court of Appeal. Called to testify as a witness, the Moroccan singer Latifa Raafat, dressed in a brown suit, appeared on Thursday before the jury in courtroom no. 8 of the Court of Appeal. Other witnesses, such as Abdenbi Bioui’s ex-wife, on the other hand, were conspicuous by their absence, due to the impossibility of notifying them of their summons because their addresses could not be found.

Mohammed El Houssaini Karrout, lawyer for the accused Abdenbi Bioui, who is being held in custody, requested a postponement of the hearing due to his client’s absence. According to him, Abdenbi is hospitalized after undergoing surgery. His defense explains that the absence of the former president of the Oriental region is justified and does not constitute an attempt to prevaricate or flee from justice. The lawyer also requested a delay until the normal conditions for the holding of the trial are met, through the presence of the witnesses, the accused and all the parties concerned by the case.

For the lawyer of Saïd Naciri, former president of Wydad de Casablanca, the postponement is necessary until the presence of the witnesses. He believes that their testimonies are an essential element to elucidate and clarify a set of circumstances related to the case. The accused must have the opportunity to directly confront the witnesses in the context of a fair trial, he stressed, insisting that the omission of this step could harm the interests of the accused. But the public prosecutor does not see it that way.

For the public prosecutor, "it is possible to hear the rest of the witnesses provided that their testimonies are not related to the accused Abdenbi Bioui."