Rabat – Police in Tangier arrested this morning three individuals for failing to report the crimes committed against 11-year-old child Adnane Bouchouf.
The suspects are the flatmates of the 24-year-old man who raped and killed the child.
Police will investigate the reasons behind the suspects’ refusal to report their flatmate despite the fact that his photo went viral on social media, 2M reported.
The suspects have also failed to report the criminal’s change in behavior since he committed his crime on Monday, September 7.
According to Article 299 of Morocco’s penal code, the suspects can face between two months and four years in prison, as well as a fine ranging between MAD 400 ($44) and MAD 2,000 ($218).
Shocking crime
While the crime that shook Moroccans occurred on Monday, security services in Tangier were only able to find Adnane’s body on Friday night, five days after his rape and murder.
The child disappeared after his parents sent him to purchase medicines from a nearby pharmacy. A street camera footage showed a young man talking to the boy before walking away with him.
After Adnane’s disappearance, police officers launched a campaign to determine his whereabouts. However, they were only able to identify and find the criminal on Friday.
Preliminary investigations revealed that the murderer, a 24-year-old man who works in the Tangier industrial zone, lured the child to his apartment, raped him, killed him, and then buried him in a nearby garden.
Police officers retrieved Adnane’s body and notified his family after the suspect confessed to his crimes. The criminal said he had committed the crimes right after he lured the child to his place.
The victim’s body will undergo an autopsy at the local morgue. Meanwhile, the criminal will stay in custody pending the end of investigations.
According to Article 474 of Morocco’s penal code, the kidnapping of a minor is punished with a death penalty if the victim ends up dead.
In addition to the rape and murder charges, a death penalty, as Moroccans on social media are demanding, seems the only plausible punishment for the criminal.
However, while capital punishment remains a legal penalty in Morocco, the last execution dates back to 1993. In practice, death penalty translates to a life imprisonment.
