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Join on Telegram Rabat – Moroccan General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said that police have opened an investigation into the death of 22-year-old Amine Chariz in the city of Agadir.
A statement from the DGSN said that the prefectural service of the judicial police in Agadir opened the investigation on Tuesday under the supervision of the public prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in the city.
The investigation aims to determine the circumstances of the case, as well as to arrest all suspects involved in his death.
Police placed into custody five people who were accompanying the victim, according to DGSN.
Police are also receiving eyewitness statements.
“The body of the victim was submitted to the autopsy by a joint medical committee to determine the causes of death,” DGSN added.
The family and friends of Amine Chariz are calling the death of their relative “mysterious.”
Chariz’ friends who were accompanying him claimed his death was an accident, while his family and friends believe that it was a murder case.
A friend of Amine Chariz, who preferred to speak anonymously to Morocco World News, said the incident took place on February 6.
“The death of Amine Chariz followed a fight between him and his friends in the Sonaba district of Agadir,” he said.
The alleged fight, he said, “took place between a group of 11 people, including Amine.”
The quarrel continued after leaving the restaurant where the disagreement started, when outside the deceased “was hit by a baseball bat, which caused internal bleeding and a fracture of the skull,” he said.
MWN could not independently verify the veracity of the information.
Although the accident occurred at around 1 a.m, Amine was not transferred to Hassan II Hospital until 4 a.m. Amine’s friends who spoke to MWN underlined that “the person who allegedly hit him called his family’s driver to take Amine to the hospital.”
Meanwhile, all of his companions had “escaped” the scene.
A puzzling case
Chariz was immediately placed in intensive care when he reached the hospital. The victim’s mother arrived from Al Massira airport in Agadir directly to Hassan II Hospital.
In a video shared on Instagram, the mother outright ruled out the possibility of a car accident.
“My son didn’t have an accident, my son was injured,” she said.
“I started to examine his body, he had no scratches. He had only one injury in his head. I even kissed his feet imploring him to wake up. He had no injuries other than the one on his head,” she said.
The victim’s sister filed a complaint before the public prosecutor in Agadir, leading to the arrest of five individuals – four young men and one young girl – who were taken into custody.
The public prosecutor ordered a medical autopsy of the body of the deceased to determine the cause of death. Results of the autopsy have yet to be revealed.
Contacted by MWN, the victim’s lawyer Reda Lkhanfoufi said “he is closely following the case but no information about the investigation has been revealed yet.”
MWN also received leaked audio notes in which the alleged perpetrator, and another person who was present at the scene of the incident, discussed the statement they would give to the police regarding Amine’s death.
Many people online showed solidarity with Amine’s death, whose funeral took place on January 9 after the Asr prayer in Agadir. More details of the case have yet to be revealed once investigations conclude.
Amine was a well-known young man in Agadir, and his mysterious death was heartbreaking for his friends and loved ones. With many missing details about what exactly happened during the fight, several questions are left unanswered.
An Instagram page under the username justicepouraminechariz_ began sharing the hashtag #JusticeforAmineChariz and many other Moroccan netizens empathized with the case as it resembles what had happened to Thami Bennani.
Amine’s family and friends are calling on authorities to investigate the case and uphold justice for him.
Safaa Kasraoui contributed to this story.
