“Secret Daughter” of Hassan II: Belgian Justice Will Not Rule Before 2027

Jane Benzaquen, 72, says she was born from a relationship between her mother Freha, a young Jewish woman from Casablanca, and the man who was then Crown Prince Moulay Hassan. Raised in Belgium, she is now attempting to have this parentage recognized before the family court of Walloon Brabant.

A first obstacle was overcome in 2021, when the Belgian courts ruled out the paternity of Raoul Jossart, the Belgian sailor listed on her birth certificate. However, this is not enough to establish that of Hassan II, who died in 1999. The plaintiff is now seeking to obtain a genetic sample from the late sovereign or one of his five children.

On Bladi.net : Woman Claims to be Hidden Daughter of Morocco’s Late King Hassan II in Belgian Court Battle

The civil proceedings are continuing, reports Soir Mag. The various parties are still exchanging their submissions, and the Kingdom of Morocco has just filed its own. According to information from the Belgian magazine, no decision is expected before 2027.

At the same time, Jane Benzaquen’s lawyers have initiated three proceedings in the United States to locate possible samples or medical records left by Hassan II during treatment he received in the 1990s. Two of these proceedings have reportedly already failed, and only one remains pending. This search for possible DNA from Hassan II is not intended to have paternity determined in the United States, but to obtain evidence that could be submitted to the Belgian court.

The Belgian address at the heart of the criminal investigation

The case also has a criminal dimension. The Kingdom of Morocco filed a complaint for fraud and forgery, arguing that Jane Benzaquen may have provided inaccurate information about her residence in Belgium in order to bring proceedings before the country’s courts.

The public prosecutor’s office initially did not consider it necessary to bring charges. However, after an appeal was lodged, the indictment chamber authorized the investigative measures requested by Morocco, deeming them necessary to establish the truth. These investigations concern Jane Benzaquen’s residency conditions and not the reality of the parentage she claims.

Her lawyers denounce a procedural battle intended, in their view, to prevent the substance of the case from being examined. The Moroccan side, by contrast, believes that these checks will demonstrate that the proceedings are based on irregular statements and pursue a financial objective.

There is also a battle between expert assessments. Morocco is relying on a 53-page British forensic report challenging the reliability of the facial resemblances presented by Jane Benzaquen. Her lawyers have announced a counter-assessment based on numerous photographs that they describe as original and unaltered.

On Bladi.net : Woman Claims to be Secret Daughter of Late Moroccan King in Belgian Court Battle

The results of a direct-to-consumer genetic test are also fueling opposing interpretations. The proportion of ancestry attributed to the Maghreb and Egypt is reportedly limited to 4 or 5%. Morocco considers this level scarcely compatible with a Moroccan father, while Jane Benzaquen’s lawyers point out that an estimate of geographic origin does not constitute a paternity test.

Suffering from cancer, the septuagenarian says that her efforts are no longer merely a quest for identity: the lack of information about her paternal medical history would also complicate the monitoring of her health. But before any possible DNA can confirm or disprove her account, the Belgian judges will first have to untangle the civil and criminal proceedings. A wait that is expected to continue at least until 2027.