Rabat – The Public Prosecutor at the Casablanca Court of Appeal has ruled that motorcycle patrol police officers who were pursuing Youssef, a young man who died on September 8 in a traffic accident in Casablanca, did not cause his death.
Youssef’s death sparked uproar among social media users in Morocco, with his relatives and many outraged citizens calling for deep, proper investigation to “hold his murderer accountable.”
As they took to social media to urge authorities to thoroughly investigate their son’s death, Youssef’s family said they believed that their son’s death was not an accident.
“Dear beloved King Mohammed VI, I am addressing this to you with all hope that you can see my appeal. My son Youssef was killed by policemen who ran after him because of a helmet. One of the policemen in the motorcycles pushed my son in a violent way, which led to the killing of my dearest boy,” Youssef’s mother wrote on Facebook on November 13.
In response, Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security immediately launched an investigation to shed light on the incident.
The Casablanca prosecutor released yesterday a statement based on the investigation into the case, saying that data did not find guilty the patrol officers who were on the site of the accident.
The prosecutor said he ordered the prefectural service aid of judicial police to initiate investigations, and the conclusion was that Youssef’s death was caused by a “spontaneous collision” between his motorcycle and that of a patrol officer.
Read Also: ‘Justice for Youssef’: DGSN Orders Thorough Investigation Into Death of Man in Casablanca
Youssef, who was accompanied by another man, had been ordered by the patrol officer to stop his motorcycle, said the statement.
“But the motorcycle rider [Youssef] rolled in his direction at high speed, hit him on the right side and continued his race a few meters before colliding, he and his companion, with the metal barrier that was in front of them at the level of the tramway and fall to the ground,” the prosecutor argued.
He added that the collision resulted in the death of Youssef and caused injuries among both his companion and the police officer.
The prosecutor said the case was also investigated by the National Brigade of the Judicial Police after people on social media expressed their outrage at the news of Youssef’s death and asked for more thorough investigations.
“Investigations concluded that the motorcyclist patrol composed of three police officers, dressed in their uniforms and using their official motorcycles, set out in pursuit of the motorcycle driver and his companion, as part of their routine missions, within their territorial jurisdiction in the Ain Sebaa-Hay Mohammadi” area, he said.
The mission of the patrol is to ensure security and identify as well as verify criminal acts, the statement noted the prosecutor, adding that Youssef and his friend were driving an unregistered motorcycle without wearing a helmet.
“The motorcycle driver did not comply with the order to stop sent to him by the patrol [officer] who wanted to carry out the security check necessary in such circumstances, to check his identity, as well as that of his companion and to check the situation of the motorcycle and his papers, in accordance with the driving and traffic control rules and the legal provisions in force,” the prosecutor said.
According to the statement, investigators also heard a large number of witnesses who were close to the scene of the accident before reaching the conclusion that the patrol officer was not responsible for Youssef’s death. The witnesses said Youssef and his friend suffered “no violence whatsoever,” either during or after the accident, said the prosecutor.
In addition, he indicated, surveillance cameras “made it possible to conclude that the driver and his companion were neither mistreated or beaten nor were they subjected to any form of violence, whether during their pursuit or after their fall.”
