Rabat – The Casablanca Court of Appeal on Monday postponed the appeal proceedings in the case of Professor Rachid Cherkab and two colleagues until November 16, granting the defense additional time to examine the case documents and prepare its legal arguments.
According to Le360, the decision came during the first hearing before the court’s Criminal Appeals Chamber on November 2, following a request from the defense team for more time to review the case file.
During the hearing, lawyers also requested provisional release for anesthesiologist and intensive care specialist Cherkab and medical technician Abdelatif Seddar. Both were placed in prison after the court issued its initial ruling.
The court reserved its decision on the release requests for deliberation at the end of the hearing.
More than 35 lawyers join defense team
The hearing drew considerable attention, with more than 35 lawyers appearing in support of the defendants in courtroom No. 5 at the Casablanca Court of Appeal.
The legal defense was joined by trade union representatives, human rights activists, and other supporters who followed the proceedings.
Outside the courthouse, patients and their families also gathered to express solidarity with Cherkab, whom supporters refer to as the “doctor of the poor.”
Several attendees recalled the medical care and interventions they or their relatives had received from the professor at Ibn Rochd University Hospital in Casablanca, praising his commitment to treating patients, particularly those in critical condition.
Rights advocates raise concerns over alleged retaliation
The case has also drawn criticism from human rights advocates, who have linked the prosecution to Cherkab’s alleged efforts to expose irregularities within the public healthcare system.
Speaking on the sidelines of Monday’s hearing, Mohamed El Ghalloussi, a lawyer and president of the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Funds, questioned the circumstances surrounding the case.
He argued that Cherkab had become an inconvenient figure for certain parties and suggested that the complaint filed by the hospital administration could reflect attempts at retaliation.
El Ghalloussi also criticized what he described as influential networks that benefit from corruption and rent-seeking practices, warning that the case could have broader implications for the protection of whistleblowers within public institutions.
In a statement published on social media, he also pointed to the large number of lawyers who joined the defense team as one of the reasons behind the postponement.
He further noted that one of the defendants, a doctor who received a six-month prison sentence in the initial ruling but remained free pending trial, had not received a formal summons to attend Monday’s hearing.
The court’s next decision concerns the requests for provisional release submitted on behalf of Cherkab and Seddar.
The November 16 hearing is expected to bring further legal arguments in a case that has attracted attention from medical professionals and rights advocates, particularly over questions of accountability, alleged misconduct within public institutions, and the protection of those who report irregularities.
