Rabat – The Public Prosecutor at the Court of Appeal in Rabat issued a statement, clarifying that the continued detention of lawyer and former minister Mohammed Ziane is fully legal and follows judicial procedures.
The statement comes following the circulation of a statement attributed to the family of Ziane, suggesting that he is on a hunger strike because he considers himself “arbitrarily detained” since November 21, after “completing” his prison sentence.
However, the prosecutor’s statement said Ziane had been previously tried in two cases.
“In the first case, a final judgement was issued, sentencing him to three years of imprisonment, which he began serving on 21/11/2022,” the public prosecutor said.
The prosecutor added that the investigating judge at the Court of Appeal in Rabat decided to place Ziane in October 2024 in pretrial detention for a second case concerning embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds, while he was serving his first prison sentence.
“In this case, a criminal judgment was issued, later upheld on appeal on 07/05-2025, also sentencing him to three years of imprisonment. This judgement has been appealed to the Court of Cassation, meaning that his continued detention after 21/11/2025 is legal, as he remains in pretrial detention for this second case,” the prosecutor added.
The statement emphasized that the ex-minister’s defense submitted a request on November 4 before the Court of Appeal in Rabat to merge the two sentences.
The prosecutor presented the request to the judicial panel during the session on November 12, but the case was postponed to November 26 at Ziane’s defense request.
He argued that his continued detention is not arbitrary since a final judgment has not been issued for the second case.
In February 2022, a court sentenced Ziane to three years in prison. He appealed the verdict, denying the charges against him.
In 2021, Morocco’s Ministry of Interior filed a lawsuit against the former minister for insulting national security institutions.
In July 2024, he was sentenced to five years in prison on charges of embezzlement and misuse of public funds during the 2015 electoral campaign.
In May 2025, the Court of Appeals in Rabat decided to reduce the prison sentence from five years to three.
It remains to be seen whether the court will decide to combine the two sentences, which could enable his release this month.
