Belgian prisoner Morocco injustice repatriation plea
Imprisoned since 2021 in Morocco for indecent assault, Belgian Marc Moerman was nevertheless acquitted in his country. This Thursday, the Justice Minister travels there to negotiate his repatriation.
The fate of this sixty-year-old man features prominently on Annelies Verlinden’s agenda. On an official visit this Thursday, June 11, the representative of the Belgian government hopes to convince Moroccan authorities to authorize the transfer of the 61-year-old detainee. This top-level intervention is based on a vertiginous legal contradiction. Before his arrest, a judge in Bruges had formally acquitted the man against accusations of sexual abuse targeting his son and the two children of his ex-partner. Finding a complete absence of evidence, Belgian justice had even granted him exclusive custody of his boy.
On Bladi.net : Belgian Chemist Jailed in Morocco: Family Claims Innocence in Child Abuse Case
The tragedy originates from a contentious divorce procedure in Spain, where this former wealthy bachelor and chemistry doctorate worked. Wishing to enroll his child in school in Belgium, he encounters the refusal of his wife of Moroccan origin who accuses him of abuse before taking the young boy with her. While attempting to trace her in 2021, the scientist is arrested upon arrival on Moroccan territory. Justice ultimately sentences him to five years in prison, basing itself exclusively on family statements, a case aggravated by translation errors of his own depositions.
On Bladi.net : Belgian Man Sentenced to 5 Years in Morocco for Child Rape Charges
Behind bars for nearly five years, the resident of Bruges sees his mental health falter in the face of detention conditions deemed very harsh. "My brother is losing courage [...] Today, he has no more hope," warns his sister Nicky, who denounces a strictly financial trap set by his former sister-in-law. Convinced of the absolute innocence of this hardworking man, she begs public authorities to intervene urgently to end this deadlock: "A poorly chosen love and a false accusation have destroyed his life."
