Torture charges against Moroccan spy chief cause rift between France and Morocco

French diplomats are puzzled by Moroccan fierce reaction to French judiciary’s decision to investigate the Moroccan Intelligence Chief Abdellatif Hammouchi on charges of torturing French citizens from Moroccan and Saharan origins.

French and Moroccan media published a statement issued by the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) wherein it stated that a senior MFA official summoned the French ambassador in Rabat Charles Frey to officially object to the French judiciary’s decision to probe into torture charges of a Moroccan official. Morocco demanded clarification from France, considering the investigation a serious blow to the bilateral relations between the two countries.

French MFA is reportedly astonished by Moroccan reaction, and is yet to issue a statement in this regard.

Over the past few days, criminal charges have been brought against the Moroccan Intelligence Chief Abdellatif Hammouchi, which would subject him to an international arrest warrant if he refused to appear before the judiciary.

The first charge is related to a Saharan citizen, Neema Safari, a Polisario Front loyalist convicted of dissident activities which took place in the Western Sahara three years ago. His wife filed the charges on his behalf.

Secondly, a former Moroccan athlete called Zakariah Momni, who holds French citizenship, filed a complaint regarding alleged torture he underwent in an issue related to the Moroccan king Mohamed the Sixth. He has staged a sit-in in front of the Moroccan embassy in Paris.

The third case pertains to a Moroccan-French young man called Adel Lemtalsi, who alleges abduction and torture in Morocco in a case related to drug-dealing.

A number of lawyers brought up the case during Hammouchi’s visit to Paris last Thursday. Lawyers claim he would have been arrested if he hadn’t travelled to Morocco immediately.

Source: Rai Al Youm