Rabat – The Moroccan House of Representatives is currently discussing Bill n°10.16, amending the Criminal Code. The bill includes new punitive measures in relation to the possession of weapons.
Article 303 of the amended code punishes the unjustified possession of weapons with one month to one-year imprisonment and a fine of MAD 1,200 to 5,000.
“Whoever is arrested, in circumstances constituting a threat to public order, to the safety of persons or property, while carrying any piercing, blunt, cutting or suffocating object, if the possession is not justified by the professional activity of the carrier or by a legitimate reason.”
The penalties will be doubled if the offender is arrested under the influence of alcohol or psychotropic drugs. The penalties will also be doubled if the weapon in question “represents a certain degree of gravity,” says article 303.
Currently the imprisonment and the fine are not necessarily cumulative, the judge can choose to opt for only one of the two sanctions.
If the reform’s current version is adopted, it will provide for penalties ranging from 1 to 2 years in prison and a fine of MAD 5,000 to 20,000. Above all, it will no longer allow the judicial authorities to pronounce alternatively the fine or the custodial sentence.
Recent crimes involving weapons in Morocco
In July 2019, a Caid was the victim of an assault in Casablanca. The offender, who was in a hysterical state, stabbed the Caid with a knife in the back, the face, and the belly.
The same month, Police patrol officers intervened to arrest a suspect who had stabbed three victims using a knife. The offender also used the weapon to resist arrest, obliging the officers to use their firearms.
In September, Moroccan police arrested a suspect involved in an attempted robbery in Casablanca. The robbers violently stabbed the victim causing her serious facial injuries.
Article complet Moroccan Parliament Discusses Bill to Clampdown on Weapon Possession Sur L'Express.