HIBAPRESS – Fikri Ouldali
The Preliminary Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Al Hoceima, on Tuesday, convicted two individuals accused of aggravated robbery using a weapon, and sentenced each of them to ten years of imprisonment, in connection with their involvement in the robbery of a money transfer and exchange agency in the city.
The details of the case date back to last May, when the accused broke into the agency located on Abd El Krim Khatabi Street, using force and a cold weapon, before stealing a sum of money and fleeing on a motorcycle, after intentionally concealing their faces with masks to avoid identification.
Investigations and inquiries conducted by the judicial police of the Al Hoceima regional security, in coordination with the provincial judicial police service in Meknes, led to the arrest of the suspects after a week of investigations. They were presented before the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Al Hoceima, who decided to detain them in the local prison pending their trial.
During their appearance before the Preliminary Criminal Chamber this afternoon, the accused confessed to the charges against them. One of them justified their act of robbery by the need for money to restart one of their stalled business projects, after they had stolen an amount exceeding one million centimes.
However, these justifications did not convince the court, which expressed surprise at the commission of this criminal act by the accused, despite them being students and aware of the consequences of such actions and their legal outcomes.
For his part, the defense of the accused requested leniency, citing their lack of prior convictions and their academic level being above high school. However, the court did not respond to this request and decided to hold them accountable and sentence each of them to ten years of imprisonment.
This sentence came despite the withdrawal of the lawsuit by the complainant, confirming the continuation of the judicial process and the legal consequences of the actions under prosecution.
