French Court Acquits Man Over Alleged Threats to King Mohammed VI
In a notable decision, a court in Roanne, located in France’s Loire department, acquitted a 44-year-old French-Moroccan man on October 21, following allegations of making death threats against King Mohammed VI of Morocco, the Moroccan ambassador to France, and a Moroccan prosecutor. This case arose from a family dispute concerning inheritance issues, which seemingly triggered the defendant's outburst against Moroccan authorities.
Evidence presented during the court proceedings revealed that the accused had reportedly expressed his frustrations through a series of videos posted on TikTok. Thirteen videos were submitted anonymously to the police, with one particularly alarming video where he allegedly threatened Morocco's ambassador, suggesting she should "increase her security." In another video, an unidentified individual was seen burning a caricature of King Mohammed VI, which raised further concerns regarding the intent behind these recordings.
During the trial, the defendant admitted that he had indeed expressed his anger through his TikTok account but claimed that he deleted the videos upon his arrival in France over two years ago. A significant point raised by the court was the ambiguity surrounding the timing of the recordings. Both the prosecutor and the defense lawyer acknowledged the challenges in determining when exactly the videos were created.
Ultimately, the court found that the evidence did not align with the timeframe specified in the charges against the defendant. Additionally, it was noted that the videos had been posted on a private channel and only gained attention after being sent anonymously to law enforcement. Given the lack of sufficient evidence to substantiate the allegations, the Roanne court ruled in favor of acquittal.
As reported by en.yabiladi.com.
