Many parliamentarians are either behind bars or under prosecution since the last general elections in Morocco, with the National Rally for Independence (RNI) at the top of the list, followed by the Authenticity and Modernity Party, the Constitutional Union and the Popular Movement. Since the 2021 general elections, many Moroccan parliamentarians have been prosecuted on charges of financial and administrative corruption. More than 20 MPs were brought to court; some have been sentenced to prison, while others are still pending trial. The Constitutional Court stripped several of them of their seats and called for partial elections. National Rally of Independents tops the list The National Rally of Independents Party (RNI) has the largest number of MPs convicted or prosecuted by Moroccan courts. Seven RNI politicians have been taken to court since their party won the 2021 elections. The first on the list is Rachid El Fayek, who was sentenced in July 2023 to five years in jail and fined 80,000 dirhams after being convicted on charges of human trafficking and rape of a mentally challenged minor. In October 2022, MP Younes Benslimane was handed a one-year suspended sentence and ordered to pay a 20,000-dirham fine after being found guilty of misusing public funds. In February, parliamentarian Ismail Barhoumi was sentenced to one year in prison for embezzlement of public funds. In April 2024, RNI MP Mohamed El Hidaoui was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined 30,000 dirhams for embezzlement over tickets destined for Moroccan fans during the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. He was also handed a two-year disqualification from voting and running for two electoral terms. In July, the Financial Crimes division of the Fez Court of Appeal decided to parole Noureddine Kchibel (RNI), president of the rural commune of Moulay Abdelkrim (Taounate province). He is accused of embezzlement, squandering public funds, and corruption. During the same month, the Constitutional Court issued a decision stripping RNI member Abderrahim Ouaslam of his parliamentary seat for the Rabat Peripheral constituency and ordered a re-election in this constituency to replace the seat. This came after the Rabat Court of Appeal convicted him of eight months of suspended imprisonment and a fine of 100,000 dirhams for failing to provide for a check when presented for payment, which is a misdemeanor. Yesterday, the investigating judge in charge of financial crimes at the Rabat Court of Appeal decided to refer the parliamentarian and head of the Ksar el-Kebir community, Mohamed Simo, along with 11 defendants, including employees and contractors, to the first instance criminal chamber at the Rabat Court of Appeal for embezzlement and misappropriation of public funds. Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) MPs before courts From the Authenticity and Modernity Party, six parliamentarians have been convicted so far, including the head of the party's parliamentary team at the House of Representatives, Ahmed Touizi, who is prosecuted for financial imbalances in the management of the municipality of Ait Ourir in the Al Haouz province, which he heads, along with Hicham Mhajri, who is accused in an embezzlement of public funds case. In May 2023, a court ruling in Taza convicted Abdelouahed Messaoudi, head of the collective council for the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), on charges of insulting and defaming Mounir Chantir, an opposition member of the council and a parliamentarian from the region on behalf of the Istiqlal Party. Both Said Naciri and Abdenbi Bioui are also being detained on suspicion of their involvement in what has become called by media as the «Sahara Escobar» case related to international drug trafficking. In April, PAM MP Rahou El Hilaa appeared before the first instance criminal chamber in charge of financial crimes at the Rabat Court of Appeal on charges of participating in the misappropriation of public funds and forging and using official documents, in his capacity as the owner of a contracting company that benefited from a road construction deal. Four Constitutional Union Party (UC) MPs behind bars In July 2023, MP Babour Sghir was handed a five-year sentence for defrauding banks and companies of an amount exceeding 600 million dirhams. Parliamentarian Hassan Arif is also being prosecuted on charges related to imposing a tax on unbuilt lands, collusion in violating the law, and insulting the judicial police for doing their job, for which he was initially handed a six-month suspended sentence. In April 2024, an Appeal court in Rabat upheld a one-year sentence for MP Yassin Radi on charges of failure to report a felony, failure to provide assistance to a person in need, and soliciting prostitution. In October, Abdelaziz El Ouadki, an MP for the Constitutional Union Party, was arrested for several accusations, namely forming a criminal gang, forging an official document and using it, participating in the destruction and concealment of public and private documents, bribery, and fraud among others. Three Members of the Popular Movement (MP) Among Popular Movement party MPs who were convicted is Abdenabi Al Aidoudi, who was handed a two-year suspended sentence on charges of misusing public funds at the commune he heads in the Sidi Kacem province. Parliamentarian and former minister Mohamed Moubdii was also charged with misusing public funds. Parliamentarian Mehdi Atmoun was also sentenced to three years in prison and fined 30,000 dirhams for embezzling public funds. In February 2023, the Constitutional Court announced that Ahmed Chada, a member of the House of Representatives, had been stripped of his status as a member of the House of Representatives at the request of the Ministry of Justice, with partial elections to fill the vacant seat in the Beni Mellal local electoral district. Three from the Istiqlal Party From the Istiqlal Party (PI), Mohammed Krimin is under investigation for embezzlement of subsidy funds allocated to meat. He was already removed from the presidency of the Bouznika commune. In February 2023, the administrative court in Marrakech decided to dismiss the head of the Souihla community, Abderrazak Ahlouch, after the governor of the Marrakech-Safi region demanded the activation of the impeachment procedure against him. The MP is suspected of being involved in a number of administrative irregularities and violations. Human rights organizations expect the public prosecution at the Marrakech Court of Appeal to open an investigation into the irregularities and suspicions of corruption raised by the Moroccan Association for the Protection of Public Funds against Ahlouch. In November 2023, the Sidi Slimane Court of First Instance sentenced Saleh Oughbal, an independent parliamentarian from the Khenifra district, to five years in prison on charges of failing to provide a supply of checks when they are presented for payment and fraud. Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) Thami Elmesqi from the Progress and Socialism Party, who was stripped of his parliamentary seat by the Constitutional Court, was sentenced to eight months in prison and fined 10,000 dirhams, while being stripped of the exercise of national rights for five years, and one month of imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 dirhams for corrupting the electoral process and compromising the integrity of the elections. In December 2021, the First Instance Criminal Chamber for Financial Crimes at the Casablanca Court of Appeal convicted Abdessamad Khanani, a parliamentarian for the Progress and Socialism Party, of three years in prison for embezzling public funds during his presidency of the Boujniba council. In March 2022, the Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) MP Said Zaidi was sentenced to one year in prison and fined 800,000 dirhams, following his prosecution on bribery charges, after he was caught red-handed obtaining a sum of money from a contractor in Rabat.
