AFCON final: Moroccan records refute French Algerian defendant’s claim he was denied legal rights

French Algerian supporter who told Le Parisien he spent 90 days in Moroccan prison “for nothing” was arrested after a police officer said he saw him throw projectiles at security forces during violence around the Africa Cup of Nations final, according to Moroccan judicial records reviewed by Hespress.

The defendant, a French citizen of Algerian origin and brother of a video analyst with Senegal’s national team, told the French newspaper June 5 he was denied access to a lawyer, unable to notify his family and unable to communicate in French after his arrest.

Documents reviewed by Hespress give a different version of the first hours of detention.

According to police records, a judicial police officer leading one of the security teams at the stadium directly observed the defendant throwing hard objects at public forces and private security personnel during the unrest that accompanied the final. The incident was recorded in an official observation report later referred to prosecutors.

The file says the defendant was first taken to a police post inside the sports facility, then transferred to the judicial police headquarters in Rabat after consultation with the public prosecutor assigned to the stadium.

The records say he was informed in French of the rights guaranteed under Article 66 of Morocco’s Code of Criminal Procedure, including the right to remain silent, contact a lawyer and notify his family. The same documents state that his mother was notified and that he said she would appoint a lawyer for him.

The file also records that he agreed to answer investigators’ questions. During custody, which was extended once, he was questioned about a scratch on the right side of his abdomen and said it occurred while he resisted arrest, according to the police report.

The 18 Senegalese nationals prosecuted in the same case were later granted a royal pardon.

A security source familiar with the investigation told Hespress that the procedures were documented in official records and carried out under Moroccan law.

The source said Le Parisien should have sought Morocco’s version before publishing allegations tied to an active judicial file.