Court orders exhumation of ‘shepherd boy’ for new autopsy amid suspicion over death

A Moroccan investigative judge on Monday ordered the exhumation of the body of 15-year-old Mohamed Bouisalkhn, widely known as the “shepherd boy,” for a second autopsy in a case that has stirred national outrage.

The decision, made during the third hearing at the Errachidia Court of Appeals, follows demands from the boy’s family, who dispute earlier findings of a natural death and insist on uncovering the full truth.

Defense lawyer Sabr El Hou, representing the family, said the judge granted two key requests: reopening the grave for a fresh forensic examination to determine whether the child’s body shows signs of assault, and hearing testimony from new witnesses identified by the family.

The move marks a turning point in the investigation, which initially gained traction after social media circulated claims of suicide. Relatives, including Bouisalkhn’s mother, Touda, and father, Issa, have consistently rejected that narrative, alleging their son may have been killed.

The case has drawn weeks of public and human rights activism. The death shocked the community of Agbalou Asrdan, where the boy lived, and prompted calls for a thorough, impartial inquiry.

Earlier this month, a “Truth and Accountability Committee” staged a sit-in and overnight vigil outside the Errachidia court, demanding investigators probe all angles, including the actions of police officers who first examined the scene.

With the judge’s latest order, the case enters a decisive stage. Findings from the second autopsy are expected to determine whether Bouisalkhn’s death was the result of foul play, a conclusion awaited anxiously by both his family and the Moroccan public.