Crime Shocks Morocco: Murderer, Rapist of Child Adnane Sentenced to Death

By Majida Ait Laktaoui 

“I apologize and want the Moroccan people and Adnane’s parents to know the truth about what happened, so that I can have a clear conscience. I did not rape Adnane, but kidnapped him because I was in need of money.” By these words, the murderer of the child Adnane tried to disassociate himself from the heinous crime that he committed. 

About three months after the beginning of the trial sessions of the four suspects in the case of killing the 11-year-old child Adnane Bouchouf, the Court of First Instance for Criminal Cases in the Court of Appeal in Tangier, north of Morocco, sentenced the prime suspect to death and the other three ones to four months of enforced imprisonment. 

A 24-year-old person was involved in the terrible crime of murdering the child Adnane that shocked the Moroccan community a few days ago. The murderer lured the child to his house in the city of Tangier, in the north of Morocco. Then, he raped and killed him. Afterwards, he attempted to hide the body by burying it in a park, not far away from his parents’ house. The police, however, were able to uncover all the details related to the crime, including the location of the body. 

“My son’s soul will rest in peace now,” Adnane’s father said to Tiny Hand as he commented on the death penalty given to his son’s murderer and rapist. He added, “This punishment is too little for this criminal and the death penalty must be implemented in public.” 

In Morocco, there has been a death penalty moratorium in place for 28 years. Nonetheless, murdering the child Adnane has stirred again the controversy over the implementation of this severe penalty. Moreover, some Moroccan people called for overriding the applicable laws and proposed retaliatory procedures against the offender. 

Adnane’s father said, “By executing the offender, all the Moroccan people, my wife, family members and I would feel satisfied and relieved.” “My son’s death in this terrible and unexpected way was not easy or fair at all. We still cannot believe he is dead,” he continued. 

After the trial session of the rapist and murderer of the child Adnane that lasted 9 whole hours, the judge found the prime suspect guilty of premeditated first-degree murder as well as kidnapping, detaining and abducting the minor. The court convicted the three other suspects who were residing in the same house (the crime scene) and sentenced them to four months of enforced imprisonment for failing to report the crime. 

After the sentence was pronounced, the offender fainted and fell down. Then, he came around and threatened that he would commit suicide “and end his life inside the prison”, according to a statement he directed to the judge.

Commenting on the judgment, Abdel Ali Errami, director of the Children’s Forum Soceity, said to Tiny Hand that the death penalty implemented on the offender is the maximum penalty. Therefore, this shall make Adnane’s soul rest in peace and condole his family.

The civil activist, Errami, called for the implementation of the death penalty for the rapist of the child Adnane and whoever commit this crime. This severe punishment, he emphasized, could deter such bloody monsters, especially that in Adnane’s case, all the elements of a heinous crime were available.