Court Postpones Hearing for Fes Mayor Amid Allegations of Corruption
On Monday, October 19, 2026, the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeal in Fes made a significant decision to postpone the trial of the mayor of Fes, Abdel Salam Boukhali, along with the secretary of the local council and fellow party member, Soufiane Drissi. The hearing has been rescheduled to November 9, 2026, to allow one of the defendants additional time to appoint legal representation.
Both Boukhali and Drissi appeared before the court following the acceptance of their appeal against a previous ruling that sentenced them to six months of imprisonment each. This ruling stems from their involvement in a financial and administrative corruption network within the Fes municipality, which was led by former parliamentarian and ex-deputy mayor Abdel Kader Bouciri, who is currently serving an eight-year prison sentence for his role in the scandal.
During the upcoming trial, Mayor Boukhali faces charges of failing to report a crime, while his colleague Drissi is charged with abuse of power. Additionally, the court will also revisit the cases of other municipal employees from Fes, who are similarly implicated and benefited from the court's acceptance of their appeals against prior convictions.
In June 2024, the financial crimes chamber of the Court of Appeal in Fes annulled an earlier acquittal of both Boukhali and Drissi, imposing a six-month prison sentence on each. Furthermore, the same court, presided by Judge Mohamed Ben Maâchou, intensified the penalty for the main accused, Abdel Kader Bouciri, increasing his sentence from five to eight years in prison after his administrative dismissal from municipal duties.
The revised judgments also saw the prison term of another contractor increased from three to five years, while a broker's sentence was escalated from ten months, two of which were suspended, to a full three years of incarceration. Additionally, another broker's sentence was raised to one year in prison instead of the initial ten months.
Moreover, the penalties for four municipal employees were revised, resulting in sentences of three years for one, two years for the second and third, and five months for the fourth. Meanwhile, the initial sentences for three other employees and one broker were upheld.
This network, consisting of 13 defendants under the leadership of former parliamentarian Abdel Kader Bouciri, faces serious criminal charges, including forgery of official documents, misappropriation of public funds, bribery, abuse of power, and failure to report a crime, alongside various other offenses related to local governance in the municipality of Fes.
As reported by ar.telquel.ma.
