Four sentenced to death over suicide bombings

A Moroccan court today sentenced four men to death for their involvement in a wave of near-simultaneous suicide bombings in May that killed 32 bystanders.

The four were convicted of having plotted to blow themselves up in the May 16 attacks in the coastal city of Casablanca.

They were among dozens of defendants in a trial of members of a clandestine Moroccan group, the Salafia Jihadia. Moroccan authorities have linked the group to the al-Qaida network of Osama bin Laden.

Officials said 83 other defendants were convicted of being members of the outlawed group and handed sentences ranging from 10 months in prison to life. Other charges included threatening state security or taking part in a criminal association.

Security was extremely tight, with defendants lined up behind a bulletproof glass shield and a metal detector in the courtroom. When the verdict was announced, defendants cried, “God is great!”

The trial was the first of several expected for hundreds of suspects connected to the attacks in Casablanca that killed 32 bystanders. A dozen suicide bombers also died.

The bombers used home-made explosives stuffed into backpacks and detonated at almost precisely the same time in five locations: a major downtown hotel as well as Jewish and Spanish sites.

Investigators have said the suicide bombers were all drafted from a shantytown on the edge of Casablanca, Morocco’s largest city. Though they were all of Moroccan nationality, local authorities believe an international network was behind the attacks.

The bombings stunned the North African kingdom, which had prided itself on the peace that prevailed here despite a deadly Islamic insurgency that has raged in neighbouring Algeria for more than a decade.

The four-judge panel deliberated for about 14 hours before announcing the verdict at around 1am local time. Defendants have eight days to appeal.

During the trial, one of the would-be bombers – Mohamed El Omari, a 23-year-old night watchman – testified he was “not happy with the (political) situation in Morocco” and had “hoped to blow himself up” at a major hotel that was targeted.

Two others accused of plotting to act as suicide bombers were identified as Yassine Lahnach, a street vendor, and Rachid Jalil, a welder. A fourth man, Hassan Tawsi, unemployed, was accused of being a “backup” bomber.

More than 30 people were sentenced to life in prison for their involvement in preparing unsuccessful attacks in tourist attractions, including the historic city of Marrakech and two beach resorts, Agadir and Essaouira.

Three spiritual leaders of the Salafia Jihadia group were sentenced to 30 years in prison. Two young defendants received 10-month sentences.

Justice Minister Mohammed Bouzoubaa has said that more than 1,000 suspected Islamic militants are facing legal proceedings for terrorism-related activities across the North African kingdom.

Morocco has not carried out the death sentence since 1993. In July, a Moroccan court sentenced 10 Islamic extremists to death for their roles in a series of slayings, thefts and attacks.