Morocco Sentences Terrorist Cell Members to Up to 15 Years for Plotting Attacks

Arrested in 2019, these individuals were planning to attack a self-proclaimed apostate fortune-teller, a soldier for being "on the payroll of the regime" and two auxiliaries of the authority for having denounced jihadists, reports Assabah.

They had also targeted the mausoleums and other tombs of saints considered as places of apostasy, foreign tourists, restaurants, nightclubs and other tourist establishments as well as the iconic and very crowded sites of the city of Marrakech, such as Jamaâ El Fna. In this specific case, they had planned an attack on the mythical square using a remote-controlled booby-trapped motorcycle, the daily recalls.

On Thursday, their trial came to an end, resulting in various sentences depending on the degree of involvement of the members. Thus, the leader of the cell was sentenced to 15 years in prison. His two lieutenants were also sentenced to the same sentence, i.e. 15 years in prison. Another member of the cell, a close associate of the emir of the organization, still a student, was sentenced, in the same trial, to 8 years in prison.