Morocco’s Appeal Court in Fez sentenced Abdelali Hamieddine, a leading member of the Justice and Development Party (PJD), to three years in prison.
The court said it found the PJD member involved in the murder of Mohamed Ait Ljid Benaissa, a leftist student, in the early 90s.
The case dates back to February 1993, when a group of masked people reportedly beat Benaissa using sharp objects as he was leaving Dar El Mehraz University in Fez.
The case first caught public attention in 2012 when the family of the student released a statement urging the full truth to be revealed about their son’s killing.
The statement implicated a member of the general secretariat of the PJD and the Moroccan State.
Ait Eljid Mohammed Benaissa, a member of the Progressive Marxist faction, was killed on March 1, 1993. The family claimed that their son’s remains were transported from Fez to Tata, located in southern Morocco, after his murder.
A colleague of Ait Eljid, who witnessed the murder, was imprisoned for two years and faced an attempted murder. According to the statement, he continues to suffer physically and psychologically.
The family have claimed that the murder was politically motivated, saying that their child actively advocated for democracy and human rights during a time characterized by constant attacks on those calling for equality and freedom.
In their statement, the family accuses “obscurantist forces” of involvement in their son’s murder.
They explain that the killer falsely claimed to belong to the Progressive Marxist faction when, in reality, he was a member of the Islamist Al-Islah wa Attajdid (Renewal and Reform) movement.
In September 2019, the Appeals Court in Fez issued verdicts against four individuals affiliated with the PJD, pronouncing them guilty of their suspected roles in the murder case.
Taoufik El Kadi and Abdelouahed Kerioul, both members of the PJD, were sentenced to three years of imprisonment by the court.
Meanwhile, Kassem Abdelkebir and Ajil Abdelkbir, also PJD members, received three-month prison sentences as per the court’s decision.
