MOROCCO: Man convicted of being part of Moroccan terror cell is released from prison

Record ID: 791954

  • Title: MOROCCO: Man convicted of being part of Moroccan terror cell is released from prison
  • Date: 20th February 2010
  • Summary: SALE (MOROCCO) (19 FEBRUARY 2010) (REUTERS) MAIN GATE OF SALE PRISON PRISON SECURITY TOWER MAIN GATE OF PRISON / FREED DETAINEE HAMID NAJIBI GIVING VICTORY SIGN SUPPORTERS CHANTING NAJIBI BEING CARRIED ON HIS SUPPORTERS' SHOULDERS POSTER CALLING FOR THE RELEASE OF THE SIX "POLITICAL PRISONERS" IN THE BELLIRAJ CELL (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FREED PRISONER HAMID NAJIBI, SAYING: "Our trial was a political one and its objective was to prevent the rapprochement recently witnessed on the political scene, and over the last decade between the Democratic Left and the Democratic Islamists." NAJIBI BEING GREETED BY LAWYER ABDERRAHMAN BEN AMR/NAJIBI GREETING SUPPORTERS SAKINA KADA, WIFE OF DETAINED JOURNALIST ABDELHAFID SRITI, TALKING TO LAWYER KHALID SEFIANI (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SAKINA KADA, WIFE OF DETAINED JOURNALIST ABDELHAFID SRITI, SAYING: "We renew our demand for the immediate release and freedom of those detained and to recognise that they were innocent because the judicial system was unable to present any new evidence during their trial. The system showed that is was not able to carry the day because there were other entities that intervened in this affair." PRISONERS' RELATIVES HOLDING UP BANNERS CALLING FOR THEIR RELEASE LAWYER ABDERRAHMAN BEN AMR ADDRESSING CROWD THROUGH MEGAPHONE HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS WITH BANNERS DETAINEES' RELATIVES AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS GIVING VICTORY SIGN NAJIBI'S FACE LAWYERS KAHLID SEFIANI AND ABDERRAHMAN BEN AMR WITH HAMID NAJIBI AND KHADIJA RIYADI, CHAIRPERSON OF THE MOROCCAN ASSOCIATION FOR HUMAN RIGHTS RELATIVES AND HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS HOLDING UP BANNERS, CHANTING (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) LAWYER KHALID SEFIANI SAYING: "I renew my appeal to the Justice Minister to make sure that the appeal against the first verdict is fair and just and should not be plagued by the violations of the law and the rights of the defence that took place during the first trial." NAJIBI GIVING VICTORY SIGN, BEING HUGGED BY SUPPORTERS
  • Embargoed: 7th March 2010 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Morocco
  • Country: Morocco
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement
  • Reuters ID: LVA10I1IDM7X3IEZBO7R1TPJW6U2
  • Story Text: A Moroccan prisoner was freed on Friday (February 19) after serving two years for his alleged role in an Islamist terror network.
    Hamid Najibi was greeted by scores of human rights activists as well as relatives of other prisoners when he was released from Sale prison on Friday morning.
    He was jailed along with around 30 others for being part of the Belliraj terror cell in a trial that human rights campaigners said had been politically motivated.
    Najibi, a teacher who belonged to the Unified Socialist Party, was accused by the general prosecutor of recruiting members of the "Democratic Youth" for an organisation calling for jihad. He denied all the charges against him during his trial and said the accusations had been fabricated by the secret services.
    "Our trial was a political one and its objective was to prevent the rapprochement recently witnessed on the political scene, and over the last decade between the Democratic Left and the Democratic Islamists," he told Reuters Television after his release.
    Abdelkader Belliraj, 50, the head of the group was jailed for life at the end of the trial, which lasted for a year and a half. Other accused cell members were handed prison terms of between two years and 30 years and among those convicted were several politicians, a number of teachers and a television reporter.
    Sakina Kada, wife of TV journalist Abdelhafid Sriti who was jailed for 20 years, said the accusations against the defendants were baseless.
    "We renew our demand for the immediate release and freedom of those detained and to recognise that they were innocent because the judicial system was unable to present any new evidence during their trial. The system showed that is was not able to carry the day because there were other entities that intervened in this affair," she said.
    Human rights campaigners accused the police of torture and falsifying key documents used as evidence while defence lawyers complained after the men's arrests that court officials had refused to show them evidence about the accused and had refused them access to their clients.
    The case is now being looked at by the court of appeal and defence lawyer Khalid Sefiani says he hopes the new justice minister, who was appointed in January, will ensure a fair trial.
    "I renew my appeal to the Justice Minister to make sure that the appeal against the first verdict is fair and just and should not be plagued by the violations of the law and the rights of the defence that took place during the first trial," he said.
    At the time of the trial, the Moroccan government said the Belliraj gang posed an unusually potent threat because it included supposedly moderate politicians and had planned to infiltrate state institution.
    Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa said the group had established a political party as a cover for its militant activities. He alleged that Belliraj had been active since the 1970s in trying to undermine the secular-leaning Moroccan monarchy and that he had formed links with Al Qaeda and was planning to attack government ministers, senior army officers and Moroccan Jews.
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