2 Sentenced to Death in Morocco
Two men arrested in a sweep aimed at dismantling militant Islamic networks after suicide bombings in Casablanca have been sentenced to death, judicial officials said Tuesday.
The Moroccan court that condemned Taoufik Hanouichi and Mohcine Bouarfa also jailed dozens of others in the trial of 46 suspected militants.
Hanouichi and Bouarfa, accused of leading a terror cell in Morocco, were convicted Monday of being complicit in “murder in connection with a terrorist group,” justice officials said on condition of anonymity.
The two men are unlikely to be executed because the North African nation has had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty since 1993.
Four others were sentenced to life in prison for their roles in the 2004 killing of a policeman and the stabbing death of an elderly Moroccan Jew in 2003.
Thirty-one people were given prison terms ranging from one to 20 years, and nine were acquitted, the Moroccan news agency MAP reported.
The law enforcement sweep occurred as part of a drive to dismantle militant Islamic networks after suicide bombings in Casablanca on May 16, 2003, killed 32 bystanders and 13 attackers.
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