By Jamal Saidi
By Jamal Saidi
Morocco World News
Casablanca, July 10, 2012
According to the daily newspaper “Assabah,” a criminal court in Iraq recently convicted two Moroccan citizens on charges related to providing support to terrorist cells and planning bombings and assassinations. The two citizens have been sentenced to death by hanging due to their alleged involvement in terrorist attacks and other crimes during the period of 2006 and 2007.
The two young men were convicted based on evidence obtained from the case file that included their explicit confessions, confidential informant statements and confessions of witnesses.
The same source indicated that the Moroccan citizens were among Jihadists who arrived in Iraq through Syria, by the way of illegal immigration networks. The two planned to join Al-Qaeda in order to fight against United States forces. They were later arrested by the Iraqi anti-terrorism services.
There are seven more Moroccan citizens that are scheduled to be executed over charges related to their connection with terrorist cells. The fate of many other Moroccans is still unknown. Last year the Iraqi authorities executed a number of Moroccans, such as Badr Achouri.
Last April the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs stated that the parliament in Morocco is closely monitoring the status of its citizens who were sentenced to death in Iraq. The minister said that their cases are among the ministry’s top priorities in terms of Morocco’s relationship with the Arab country.
