30 in court over Casablanca
2003-08-04 20:07
Casablanca - Thirty men suspected of involvement in the May 16 suicide bombings in the Moroccan city of Casablanca appeared before a criminal court here on Monday.
The trial came amid allegations of torture in custody from one of the defendants, who bring to 84 the number of people to have appeared in court in relation to the attacks, which left 44 people dead including 12 bombers.
The court adjourned the hearings for six of the suspects, including Abdelwahab Rafiki, a suspected ringleader of the banned Islamist group Salafia Jihadia, which is believed to be behind the attacks.
Following requests from the defence, three of the defendants will now be heard on Thursday while three others including Rafiki, who is also known as Abou Hafs, will appear in court on September 10.
Criminal association
The remaining 24 defendants were heard on charges that included forming a criminal association, undermining state security and sabotage.
Defence lawyer Abdelghani Rizki charged that his client had been subjected to torture while in custody, and asked the court to disregard the police report concerning his client and to have a medical expert testify on the matter.
About 200 people, most of them suspected members of Salafia Jihadia, have been charged in Morocco under a tough new anti-terrorism law adopted after the attacks.
On July 12, a court in Casablanca trying 31 alleged Salafia Jihadia members, arrested ahead of the attacks on various charges including murder, sentenced 10 of them to death and jailed the others to terms ranging from one year to life.
Among those sentenced to death was Yussef Fikri, said to have been the leader of the group that carried out the Casablanca attacks.
Morocco has repeatedly insisted that the suspects have ties to international extremist groups, including Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda network.
- Sapa-AFP
- SAPA