Morocco moves to toughen knife crime penalties, expand forensic services

Judicial rulings in Morocco are now “coming down hard” on crimes involving bladed weapons, said Abdellatif Ouahbi, Minister of Justice, citing a growing and dangerous trend that has led to violent incidents, including the severing of a police officer’s hand in Agadir and attacks disfiguring young women.

Speaking during the oral questions session in Parliament on Monday, Ouahbi stressed that the new draft Code of Criminal Procedure expands the definition of a weapon to include any tool capable of causing harm.

 Legal provisions have shifted from Article 507 to Article 303 bis, introducing tougher penalties. 

The Minister affirmed his determination to impose stricter punishments on individuals carrying bladed weapons, such as swords or even screwdrivers used to assault others, with strong backing from the Public Prosecution and the judiciary. He also praised the efforts of the police and Royal Gendarmerie in addressing the issue.

Turning to the field of forensic medicine, Ouahbi acknowledged major challenges facing the sector. International human rights reports have criticized the notable absence of forensic medicine in Morocco, a gap the Minister said remains serious. He admitted that forensic services are “extremely limited, to the point where it is impossible to provide a forensic doctor in every province.”

To address the shortage, the Ministry of Justice has issued a decree for fast-track training of general practitioners to perform forensic duties and has urged the Ministry of Higher Education to open forensic medicine programs in medical schools. Yet student interest remains low, mainly because the fees offered for autopsies are modest—around 100 dirhams per case.

The Minister noted that reforms are underway to raise compensation for forensic doctors. Currently, 75 students are in training in forensic pathology for deceased individuals and 63 in forensic medicine for living persons, totaling 138 forensic doctors in preparation. A further plan aims to train 200 additional doctors and expand training programs to meet the urgent need in this critical field.

Addressing financial crimes, Ouahbi emphasized the importance of protecting the use of checks as a tool for commercial transactions, warning against “killing the check,” which he said would harm the economy. 

He proposed a gradual approach to violations: allowing citizens the opportunity to settle their cases by paying the amount of the check, decriminalizing bounced checks between spouses by treating them as civil disputes, and introducing alternative penalties, such as electronic monitoring, instead of immediate imprisonment.