HIBAPRESS – Fikri Ould Ali
The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Al Hoceima ruled last Monday evening to convict nine people who were arrested against the backdrop of the events that occurred in the city of Imzouren, in the Al Hoceima region, on the second and third of last October, which included an attack on the judicial dam of national security at the entrance to the city.
The court issued sentences of two years' imprisonment in effect against each of the accused, with them bearing the costs jointly and compulsorily at the minimum. It also ruled in the related civil case to oblige the accused to pay civil compensation to the General Directorate of National Security, set at 45,000 dirhams, to be paid jointly among them in accordance with the law. The accused were prosecuted for deliberately setting fire to vehicles and placing objects in the public road with the intention of obstructing traffic and sabotage, damaging property allocated for public benefit, gathering, and disobedience by more than two people carrying visible weapons, in addition to insulting public officials and public force men during their performance of their duties, using violence against them, and participating in armed gatherings at night. The court had decided in a previous session to separate the file related to an accused who is on the run, and to postpone consideration of it until December 15th, in order to complete the procedures of the absentee procedure in accordance with the legal requirements governing the absentee trial. The court, along with the Public Prosecution, also rejected the defense's request to summon some witnesses to ensure the absence of some of the accused from the areas that witnessed the events.
