Abdelkader Belliraj Sentenced to life Imprisonment

The court of appeals of Salé, near Rabat, sentenced, Tuesday morning, Abdelkader Belliraj, the prime suspect in the dismantled Belliraj terrorist ring to life imprisonment on charges of "disturbing the state’s internal security and premeditated murder."

  The charges also include "forming a criminal gang to plot and carry out terrorist acts as part of a collective project to seriously undermine public order through intimidation, violence and terror," "attempted premeditated intentional manslaughter," "aggravated theft and attempted aggravated theft," and "illegal possession of weapons and explosives."

  "If they want to adjudicate us, let them stand trial all the politicians, who were part of Morocco’s crisis," said Abdelkader Belliraj during the last listening by the court. "the meeting of Tangier was normal, and if the prosecution insists to consider the contrary and wants the trial of history through it, though the right of the opposition is authorized, let them provide proofs of what we are charged with," He added.

  The court sentenced seven co-accused to 30 years in prison each. It also sentenced Mustapha Mouatassim, Secretary General of the dissolved "Al Badil Al Hadari البديل الحضاري " party, his deputy Mohamed Amine Regala, and Mohamed Merouani, head of the unrecognised "Ummah الأمة " Party, to 25 years in jail each.

  It gave 20 years in prison to Alaa Badella Ma-El Ainin, member of the Justice and Development party (PJD), and Abdelhafid Sriti, Al Manar satellite TV channel correspondent in Morocco.

 The other defendants got prison terms ranging between one suspended year and 15 years in prison.

  Police had found out arms caches including ammunition and detonators in Casablanca and Nador (northeast). Which, according to Belliraj, its real destination was The Islamic Rescue Front in Algeria, during the confrontations between the army and the Islamists in Algeria in the nineties, and this charge is attached with him today since he refused to deal with Belbachir earlier."

  Belliraj also talked a lot about «forgery of records and torture», he considered records counterfeit in time, place and content, echoing "they tortured me so often: Can the justice be fair with me?".

  On the other hand, Belliraj described the person who investigated with him as a being «sadistic» and persons who edited records delight farce with the persons investigated with. Besides, they were drunk during the investigation," Belliraj also stated that the trial of intentions and ideas is a criminalization of the public opinion."

  Belliraj concluded the trial session by saying: "they attributed the charge of disturbing the state’s security, and I’m the prejudiced, and I am not the one who threatened the security of the state." 

  to recall, the case of Belliraj started last year when Moroccan authorities in February 18, 2008 arrested 35 people on charges of "arranging a terrorist ring planning to carry out sabotage and political assassinations", accused the Belgian of Moroccan origin Abdelkader Belliraj . But the declaration of the arrest of six political and Islamic-political leaders and persons in the media work within the network was a big surprise.