The First Instance Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Casablanca sentenced two of the suspects in the Thami Bennani homicide case on Wednesday to 20 years in jail and a financial penalty of 600,000 MAD in compensation to the deceased’s family, thus concluding the issue.
The defense of Thami Bennani’s family is dissatisfied with the verdict handed down by a criminal court near Casablanca’s appellate court on Wednesday evening.
The long-awaited decision was given after Thami’s mother fought a 16-year quest for justice.
To the dismay of the defendants’ relatives, the court, which was filled with local and national media, saw tears and ranting upon the release of the decision, which many had been expecting and hoping for.
The facts have dominated the spotlight since April 2007, when Thami Bennani, then 17, went missing in mysterious circumstances on a day when his mother saw him for the last time before he left in a car with companions thought to be his friends.
He’d gotten into a car with several friends to go to Paloma Beach in Casablanca’s outskirts.
Though immediately suspected of involvement, his “friends” were not arrested until 2019, 12 years subsequent to the initial arousal of such suspicion.
In 2019, the case took a new turn: Two of the victim’s friends were arrested when the National Brigade of Judicial Police (BNPJ) was able to track down a phone call in which they stated that Thami Bennani had died of an overdose.
In January 2022, a well-known Moroccan YouTuber posted a video on the mysterious disappearance of Thami Bennani, garnering 2.2 million views in less than four days.
The case has become the most talked-about topic on the national stage, with several celebrities using the hashtag #justiceforthamibennani to help the victim’s mother seek justice.