SHARE
COPY LINK

MOROCCO

Fresh protests planned over Spanish paedophile

Moroccans furious over the pardon of Daniel Galvan Vina convicted of raping 11 children aged between four and 15, are set to have more demonstrations as the king on Saturday announced an investigation into his release.

Fresh protests planned over Spanish paedophile
Policemen arrest a protester during a demonstration in Rabat on the release of a Spanish paedophile. Photo: AFP / Fadel Senna

Social media sites have called for fresh protests in Casablanca and Rabat next week after baton-wielding police dispersed demonstrations on Friday.

Daniel Galvan Vina, said to be in his 60s, was pardoned by King Mohammed VI and freed on Tuesday from jail in Kenitra, north of the capital.

He had been sentenced in September 2011 to 30 years in prison.

Galvan was among 48 Spanish prisoners released in response to a request from Spanish King Juan Carlos, who visited Morocco in mid-July, the justice
ministry said.

But royal palace said in a statement carried on Morocco's official MAP news agency that the king had been unaware of the nature of Galvan's crimes and had ordered a probe into his release.

The investigation should "determine the responsibilities and the failures that led to this regrettable release," the statement said.

"The king was never informed — in any way or at any time — of the seriousness of the abject crimes of which the person concerned was convicted," the palace added.

"It is clear that the sovereign would never have consented" to his release, given the "monstrous crimes" committed, the statement concluded.

Galvan is thought to have already left the country.

The incident has sparked outrage in the north African country, which has seen several high-profile paedophile arrests in recent months.

On Friday night, baton-wielding police dispersed several thousand people who tried to protest in front of the parliament in Rabat.

Dozens were injured, including reporters and news photographers, and some had to be hospitalised.

Others were held outside the Moroccan embassy in Paris on Saturday and in Kenitra, where the man had been held.

Police also broke up demonstrations in Tanger and Tetouan.
 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.

TRIAL

Morocco death penalties confirmed for killers of Scandinavian hikers

A Moroccan anti-terrorist court on Wednesday confirmed death sentences handed down against three men convicted of beheading two Scandinavian tourists last December, and sentenced a fourth man to be executed.

Morocco death penalties confirmed for killers of Scandinavian hikers
Moroccan police stand guard during the trial in Sale earlier this year. Photo: AFP

All four defendants had been convicted at a trial in July, but the fourth defendant was originally sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of the two women, killed while hiking in the High Atlas mountains.

Those sentenced to death included ringleader Abdessamad Ejjoud, a street vendor and underground imam, who had confessed to orchestrating the attack with two other radicalised Moroccans.

They had admitted killing 24-year-old Danish student Louisa Vesterager Jespersen and 28-year-old Norwegian Maren Ueland in murders that shocked the North African country.

Although the death penalty remains legal in Morocco, there have been no executions there since 1993 because of a moratorium, and the issue of capital punishment is a matter of political debate.

The court in Sale, near Rabat, confirmed jail sentences of between five and 30 years against 19 other men, but increased the jail sentence of another man from 15 to 20 years.

The court also confirmed an order for the three men who carried out the killings and their accomplices to pay two million dirhams (190,000 euros) in compensation to Ueland's family.

But it refused a request from the Jespersen family for 10 million dirhams in compensation from the Moroccan state for its “moral responsibility”.

READ ALSO: Convicts appeal in Morocco case of murdered Danish, Norwegian hikers