Moroccan Court Convicts Alternative Healer After Cancer Patient’s Death

It all started with a complaint filed by a professor, who holds a position as a teacher at the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy and owns a medical imaging center, against a practitioner of "roqya charia", who owns a "clinic" in the Yaacoub Al Mansour district of Rabat. In the complaint, he accuses the practitioner of having indirectly caused the death of his wife by persuading her to abandon her specialized medical treatment in favor of the treatment he was offering.

The complainant’s wife had been diagnosed with breast cancer during the Covid-19 pandemic. She had subsequently undergone surgery that was to be followed by radiotherapy sessions. However, she met a woman who recommended the practitioner in question to her. He sent her messages urging her not to follow the radiotherapy sessions and to replace them with his own treatment.

The patient followed his advice. But her health did not improve. The practitioner’s therapy led to the spread of cancer cells in her body, causing the death of the professor’s wife.

The case was brought before the court of first instance in Rabat. It sentenced the accused to a four-month suspended prison sentence, accompanied by a fixed fine of 2,000 dirhams. He must also pay compensation of 120,000 dirhams to the civil parties.