Rabat prosecutors have extended police custody for 19 suspects detained after violent clashes during the Africa Cup of Nations final, as investigators assess injuries to stewards and organisers and prepare criminal charges linked to the stadium unrest, judicial sources who spoke to Hespress said.
The suspects, mostly Senegalese nationals and including one Algerian citizen, were arrested after disorder broke out at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium during the AFCON final between Morocco and Senegal.
Their appearance before prosecutors, initially scheduled for Tuesday, was postponed to Wednesday.
Judicial sources said the extension was ordered to allow authorities to review medical reports submitted by stadium staff who were assaulted during the clashes and to determine the severity of their injuries. Investigators are also compiling a full assessment of material damage caused during the unrest.
The arrests followed an investigation by judicial police acting on instructions from the public prosecutor’s office, relying on stadium surveillance footage to identify those involved.
Prosecutors are expected to bring charges including public disorder, vandalism, assault on public officials, incitement to riot and disturbance of public order.
Moroccan lawyer Mohamed Kafil said the case falls under crimes of violence committed during sporting events as defined by Law 09.09, which amended the penal code in 2011.
He said the law provides prison sentences ranging from three months to five years and fines of up to 20,000 dirhams, with heavier penalties if dangerous objects are used or if serious injuries are proven.
Kafil added that if investigations establish grave harm or death resulting from deliberate violence, prosecutors could pursue felony charges carrying sentences of up to life imprisonment.
What happens during sporting events is similar to what happens when Raja and Wydad play, for example; fans sometimes slip up. The same is true when Real Madrid plays Barcelona, or when other teams in Germany or England play; there is always excessive enthusiasm and excessive violence. This is one of the negative aspects of sporting events worldwide.
The country of Senegal and its people are our brothers, our friends, and our relationship is excellent, just as it is with the Egyptian and Algerian people. Our destiny as African nations and peoples is a shared one, and it is shameful that sport divides us instead of uniting us.
The Kingdom of Morocco is moving forward with steady steps. Morocco is building and developing, and it is on the right path despite the gratuitous hostility from the Algerian military regime and the containment policy pursued by the Élysée Palace and the deep-seated colonial state of France, which still dreams of past glories that are gone and will never return