The Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Fez sentenced on Tuesday evening to 3 years in prison against the former leader of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), Abdelali Hamieddine.
The latter was convicted of contributing to the premeditated murder of a leftist student in the 1990s during violence between student factions.
The court also ordered Hami Eddine to pay MAD 20,000 in damages to the victim’s family.
The decision comes after 22 trial sessions and a series of postponements. Hamieddine’’s supporters have been vocal in their support for him throughout the trial, and it is expected that the verdict will be met with controversy.
In a statement published on the official website of PJD, the latter noted that the “The defense argued that the case against Hami al-Din is based on the testimony of a single witness, who has a history of making false statements. The witness was previously convicted in the same case, and there are final judicial rulings in other cases that have found his testimony to be unreliable.”
In 1993, Hamieddine was arrested and brought to trial in connection with the case. He was convicted and sentenced to two years in prison.
However, later on, it was discovered that he had been wrongfully convicted, leading to his subsequent acquittal.
The case traces back to 1993 when a leftist university student named Ben Issa Ait Jid was killed following clashes between student factions within the University of Fes. During that time, Hamieddine faced murder charges. However, the judiciary acquitted him.
In July 2017, the family of the deceased student filed a new complaint, prompting the reopening of the case by an investigating judge. This resulted in the decision to prosecute Hamidieddine.
The case was filed under number 259/17. After conducting a thorough investigation with the accused Abdelali Hamieddine, who served as the head of the Education, Cultural, and Social Affairs Committee at the Council of Advisors, the judge decided to pursue the case and refer it to the Criminal Court, with Hamieddine released pending further proceedings.
The judicial decision to prosecute Hamieddine was based on the emergence of new witnesses who confirmed his involvement in the case.
Meanwhile, the defense representing the Ait Jid family asserted that these new elements compelled the investigating judge to summon and subsequently prosecute Hamieddine.
Despite receiving a summons from the investigating judge at the Court of Appeals in Fez regarding his suspected involvement in the case of Ben Issa Ait Jid, Hamieddine failed to respond.
As a result, the investigating judge repeatedly postponed the completion of the detailed investigation procedures initiated, as Hamieddine continued to be absent from the sessions despite the summons.
In 2019, Hamieddine resigned from his position as the president of The Forum of Dignity for Human Rights, a human rights organization closely associated with the PJD, due to his ongoing trial in connection with this case.
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