Rabat- Rabat authorities have conducted medical checks on the Hassan Mosque imam attacker, revealing that the culprit, who displayed signs of mental illness, was sane and sound the whole time, in contrast with the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN)’s previous assessment.
Rabat- Rabat authorities have conducted medical checks on the Hassan Mosque imam attacker, revealing that the culprit, who displayed signs of mental illness, was sane and sound the whole time, in contrast with the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN)’s previous assessment.
The 29-year-old knifeman who attacked an imam inside Rabat’s Hassan Mosque in May and has been described by DGSN as mentally deranged, is free of any mental illness, according to Moroccan authorities after a mental health assessment.
The culprit will appear before the public prosecutor at the Rabat Court of Appeals on charges of attempted murder, in accordance with the recent medical diagnosis.
On May 4, the perpetrator rushed the minbar (pulpit) of the mosque during Friday prayer, wielding two knives and uttering incomprehensible words, before a group of worshippers disarmed him.
A scene of the attack aired on Moroccan television channels, Al Oula and 2M. However, both channels muted the sound and quickly showed images of the outside of the mosque.
Although no injuries were recorded, the incident sparked nationwide shock and outrage since it took place within a sacred space.
Perplexingly similar to the incident in Rabat, a man who displayed signs of mental disorder attacked a random worshipper at Al Hamd Mosque in Casablanca in the same month. In the Casablanca case, the attacker managed to stab his victim.
