فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Fez, Morocco – The Preliminary Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals in Fez, late on Monday, sentenced a former judge at the Fez Court of First Instance, who had been dismissed from her duties, to two years in prison, including one year effective. This verdict came after she was prosecuted in custody on serious charges related to fraud, forgery, and impersonation.
The ruling follows approximately a month and a half after her arrest, along with her husband, for receiving a sum of 100,000 Moroccan Dirhams from a company owner in Rabat. The accused had misled the victim into believing he was the subject of a false national arrest warrant, claiming her ability to intervene on his behalf in exchange for money.
The same court also convicted the judge’s husband, who was prosecuted in the same case, sentencing him to six months of effective imprisonment and a fine of 2000 Moroccan Dirhams. Both were also ordered to pay civil compensation to the victim amounting to 10,000 Moroccan Dirhams.
Investigations conducted by the Regional Judicial Police Brigade revealed that the judge, along with her husband, defrauded the businessman by providing him with a forged document attributed to the Public Prosecution, falsely indicating the cancellation of a fictitious arrest warrant, all with the aim of financial extortion. The victim handed over the money after being led to believe there was a criminal investigation against him in a drug case.
Further investigation uncovered the couple’s involvement in another fraud operation targeting the owner of sports halls, who transferred a similar amount to the judge’s husband’s bank account in exchange for promises of intervention in a judicial case that was pending before the Court of Cassation. Security services documented this through tracking bank transactions.
During the arrest of the judge and her husband, security services seized significant items, including narcotic pills that the accused was consuming. Investigations also showed that the judge was involved in other previous cases, including issuing bounced checks, defrauding families by claiming intervention in judicial cases, in addition to issues related to furniture theft and non-payment of car and house rental fees.
This case has brought the issue of integrity within judicial institutions back to the forefront and has been considered by legal practitioners as a blatant example of alleged abuse of power and manipulation of public trust in justice.
