Morocco’s Interior Ministry reviews stalled prison sentences against elected officials

Morocco’s Interior Ministry has begun reviewing cases involving current and former local elected officials who have been sentenced to prison, after reports from several provinces raised questions about delays in enforcing some final court rulings, according to Hespress AR sources familiar with the matter.

The ministry’s Directorate of Legal Affairs and Litigation is collecting information on elected officials who received prison sentences over the past three years, with particular attention to cases in which appeals have been exhausted and sentences are considered enforceable, the sources said.

The review is focused in particular on cases reported by authorities in the Casablanca-Settat and Rabat-Sale-Kenitra regions, while also covering other current and former municipal officials convicted in criminal cases. Authorities are examining the dates of judgments, the appeals filed, the stage reached by each case and any measures taken to enforce the sentences, the sources said.

The process is intended to distinguish between cases that remain subject to judicial proceedings and those in which all avenues of appeal have been exhausted but enforcement has yet to proceed, according to the sources.

Among the cases receiving attention is that of Hakim Aftout, former president of the Had Soualem municipality in Berrechid province, whose case was part of the so-called “17 billion” affair. Morocco’s Court of Cassation rejected his appeal in July 2024, according to the sources.

Aftout had been sentenced to two years in prison, with one year to be served and the remainder suspended, as well as a 20,000-dirham ($2,000) fine, according to the sources. The case subsequently raised questions over what they described as delays by the relevant authorities in enforcing the prison portion of the sentence.

The Interior Ministry’s review extends beyond the Had Soualem case and includes former municipal presidents, deputies and council members whose criminal proceedings continued for years before reaching final rulings, the sources said.

Authorities are now matching information held by provincial and prefectural administrations with the judicial status of individual cases to determine which files require further legal or administrative action.

The ministry is awaiting additional reports from local authorities before finalizing a list of cases and determining the status of each one, according to the sources. The review is also intended to identify why some cases have remained pending after judicial proceedings were completed.