Fez Financial Crimes Court Adjourns Trial of Zouagha District President and 18 Co-Defendants in Hay Al Massira Building Collapse to December 3

FEZ (FesNews Media) — The Primary Criminal Chamber in charge of Financial Crimes at the Fez Court of Appeal decided on Tuesday, November 10, 2026, to adjourn the high-profile trial of 19 defendants prosecuted over the deadly collapse of two residential buildings at Lotissement Al Mostaqbal in Hay Al Massira (Bensouda district) until December 3, 2026.

The bench ordered the postponement to formally summon the Judicial Agent of the Kingdom and the legal representative of the Commune of Fez so that civil and public-law claims can proceed properly. Tuesday’s hearing was marked by the in-person appearance of the President of the Zouagha District Council following earlier absences, while a parallel appellate file linked to the same tragedy was adjourned to December 1.

Scope of Prosecutions and Charges Under Urban Governance Laws

Eight of the nineteen defendants are currently standing trial in preventive detention, while eleven others—including the Zouagha district president, two vice-presidents, municipal urban-planning staff, local authority agents, and construction contractors—are being prosecuted on provisional release. All defendants remain covered by the constitutional presumption of innocence pending a final court judgment.

Prosecutors have brought charges involving suspected bribery, involuntary manslaughter and unintentional bodily harm resulting from failure to observe urban-planning regulations, unauthorized construction of additional floors, and the issuance of unlawful administrative certificates for utility connections.

Context of the December 2025 Tragedy and Judicial Acceleration

The case stems from the night of December 9, 2025, when two adjacent multi-story residential buildings collapsed in Hay Al Massira during a family celebration, killing 22 people and injuring 16 others. Following the disaster, Morocco’s Regional Judicial Police Brigade in Fez conducted extensive technical and administrative investigations into building permits, structural integrity, and municipal oversight.

Tuesday’s procedural directive aligns with broader efforts by the Fez Financial Crimes Court to prevent protracted delays in major public-accountability trials, ensuring that victims’ families and civil parties obtain a comprehensive judicial examination when substantive hearings resume on December 3.