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Morocco court convicts ex-Guantanamo Bay detainee on terrorism charges

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A Moroccan criminal court on Thursday convicted Moroccan citizen Said Boujandia of crimes associated with terrorist acts. The Sale Criminal Court sentenced Boujandia to 10 years in a Moroccan prison. Boujandia admitted his association with with a terrorist organization who sought to aid the Taliban, but has denied committing any crime. Boujandia was held in US custody in Guantanamo Bay from 2001 until May 2008. AP has more. WaBayn has local coverage, in French. The conviction of Boujandia was the first criminal conviction of a Moroccan citizen connected with the US-led "war on terror." Morocco had previously refused to pursue criminal charges against any citizen for terrorist acts that occurred outside of Morocco, and had released without criminal charges a former Guantanamo Bay detainee released by the US into Moroccan custody. Recently, Morocco has assumed a more aggressive role in prosecuting alleged terror suspects for acts occurring beyond Morocco's borders. In January of 2008, Moroccan authorities arrested Abdelilah Hriz a suspect in the 2004 Madrid bombings.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on November 14, 2008 (boomark / email).