Morocco MP’s killer sentenced to death

A local councillor guilty of murdering a Moroccan MP has been sentenced to death by a court in Morocco along with the MP’s wife who was handed a lengthy prison sentence for her involvement.

A member of Morocco’s parliament and the liberal Constitutional Union party, Abdellatif Merdas, was gunned down near his house in Casablanca last year.

The murder suspect, Hicham Mouchtari, was sentenced to death on Monday this week after he was convicted of “premeditated murder”, according to the Justice Ministry.

The death penalty has not been abolished in Morocco but a death sentence has not been carried out in the country since 1993.

The murdered MP’s wife, Ouafae Bensamadi, was handed a life sentence along with her friend, described as a “fortune teller”, who was given 20 years in prison.

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Bensamadi is alleged to have had an affair with suspect Mouchtari according to media reports. Mouchtari reportedly killed Merdas with the help of a nephew who was also handed a prison sentence of 30 years.

The motives behind the killing was described as “sex, money and vengeance” according to the state prosecutor who dismissed any political motive behind Merda’s murder.

Bensamadi allegedly went to a fortune teller to seek revenge after she was abused by her husband.