The Moroccan Public Prosecution decided, on Monday, to arrest the mayor of Tangier, Mounir Limouri, pending investigation, on suspicion of electoral violations on behalf of the Authenticity and Modernity Party, which topped the election results on Wednesday, according to a judicial source.
The source, who requested to remain anonymous, said that the investigation also includes five other people, including the heads of two voting bureaus. “The investigating judge decided to place them in pretrial detention.”
Limori was arrested on Monday morning at Ibn Battuta Airport in Tangier, coming from Spain.
On Wednesday morning, polling day, clips on social media showed a person carrying a bag containing electoral papers outside one of the voting offices in the city of Tangier, while local media reported that these papers included a vote for the Authenticity and Modernity Party.
On that day, the Public Prosecution announced the arrest of this person and the opening of a judicial investigation into the matter.
Also, the Ministry of Interior announced, on Monday, that it had dispatched a central inspection committee to Tangier “following the violations that marred the electoral process,” adding that it would take all necessary measures “in light of what the research will produce.”
The three parties (Authenticity and Modernity, National Rally, and Istiqlal) that make up the outgoing government coalition in Morocco topped the election results, led by the Authenticity and Modernity Party, with 97 seats out of 395.
It is expected that King Mohammed VI will appoint a figure from this party to form a government for five years.
These elections were characterized by a participation rate that did not exceed 39 percent, the lowest in nearly two decades.
It also witnessed a strong return of the Islamist Justice and Development Party (54 seats), which announced on Saturday that it would not participate in the government expected to be formed by the Authenticity and Modernity Party.
A proposal launched by a prominent Egyptian doctor to explore the possibility of using the organs of those sentenced to death to save patients in need of transplants was met with widespread rejection and criticism.
The proposal was presented by Dr. Hossam Mowafy, professor of critical care medicine at Cairo University, during television statements in which he raised questions about whether the law or Sharia allows the use of organs from those sentenced to death, whether before the execution of the sentence or after death, “in a way that could contribute to saving the lives of patients in need of transplanting vital organs, including the kidneys, heart, corneas, and parts of the liver,” as he put it.
Although he stressed that his proposal “does not represent a direct call to urgently implement the idea, but rather comes within the framework of the search for a clear position from the competent authorities,” disapproving reactions continued.
Dr. Muhammad Mukhtar Gomaa, former Minister of Endowments and member of the Islamic Research Academy at Al-Azhar Al-Sharif, said: “The person sentenced to death will have received the punishment approved by Sharia and the law, and then his life will end and his matter will return to God. If He wills, He will pardon His grace, and if He wills, He will be called to account with His justice.”
He added in a post on his Facebook page: “The human body is inviolable and honored even after his death, by burying it and covering his body, without violating it or harming his body,” pointing out that “it is not permissible according to Islamic law to take an organ from a person, whether during his life or after his death, unless he donated it of his own free will and willingly.”
He stressed the need for “this donation to be legally documented to prevent any suspicion of abuse, as no person, not even the heirs of the deceased together, has the right to donate any of his organs on his behalf.”
For his part, the Assistant Secretary-General of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, Dr. Khaled Amin, rejected the proposal based on a legal text requiring that the donation be issued by “free will free from the defects of consent.”
He added in a post on Facebook: “It is not legally permissible to transfer organs from incompetent people due to the absence of free will in their condition, and any consent other than their consent is not taken into account,” and this applies to those sentenced to death.
Dr. Mustafa Al-Saadawi, a professor of criminal law, considered the treatment of the organs of those facing the death penalty to be equivalent to “continuing to punish them as if the death penalty alone is not enough, so we make their bodies subject to another punishment, which contradicts the spirit of the law and the philosophy of punishment, which inflicts punishment on the convicted person once, not twice.”
He added in a statement to Asharq Al-Awsat: “The death sentence does not, in and of itself, include the convict giving up his organs, nor does it transfer ownership of his body to the state. The punishment here has a specific scope, which is taking his life in implementation of a final judicial ruling. As for the removal of his body organs, it is another issue that requires an independent legal basis and controls consistent with the constitution.”
With support from the United Nations Mine Action Service of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, 14,066 pieces of explosive ordnance were removed from the Swehli farm in Misrata in 9 months.
The UN mission said in a statement on Monday that the process of clearing the farm took place during the period from January to September, according to a field report presented by the Libyan Peace Organization during the UN team’s visit to Misrata last week.
The mission explained that its team held a meeting with the Municipal Council in Misrata to discuss ways in which United Nations support and the efforts of non-governmental organizations could contribute to protecting civilians from the dangers of explosive ordnance, and promoting sound practices and awareness of the safe management and handling of ammunition.
During the visit, the Mayor of Misrata Municipality, Mahmoud Al-Soqotri, requested United Nations support for clean-up operations in the areas of Zamzam, Al-Washka, and Abu Qurain, where “explosive remnants of war are still a source of concern for the safety of civilians,” welcoming awareness campaigns about the dangers of explosive ordnance, and expressing his support for initiatives aimed at helping to protect residents and ensure their safety.
The UN mission quoted the head of the United Nations Mine Action Service, Fatima Zureiq, as saying that “civilians should not be exposed to such dangers,” expressing “its concern about the effects of unplanned explosions that occur repeatedly near populated areas in Libya and the damage they cause.”
Zureiq renewed the United Nations’ commitment to working with its Libyan partners to enhance the safety of civilians and protect them from the dangers of explosive remnants of war, stressing that it is better to take preventive measures to prevent these explosions from occurring in the future.
The visit focused on the importance of protecting civilians and reducing the risks of unplanned explosions at ammunition storage sites, following the explosion that occurred in the Al-Sakkat area in Misrata last month. The mission noted that this explosion, and five similar explosions that occurred in other parts of Libya during the past four years, led to the contamination of the surrounding areas with explosive ordnance.
On the 22nd of last month, a violent explosion rocked an ammunition warehouse in the Al-Saket area, south of the city of Misrata, without any casualties recorded. In early September last year, 16 people were injured as a result of an ammunition depot explosion in the city, which includes large armed formations.
Technical assessments conducted during clearance operations often show that ammunition storage practices that do not follow international guidelines are one of the main factors that increase the risk of such incidents. The department seeks to strengthen national capabilities in managing weapons and ammunition, ensuring consistent and safe practices in managing ammunition stocks.
The mission team and the Libyan Mine Action Center reviewed the progress made in explosive ordnance disposal and risk awareness activities carried out by the two implementing partners, the HALO Trust and the Libyan Peace Organization, within the framework of a project funded by the Italian government.
Weapon stores within residential blocs and neighborhoods constitute a renewed and cumulative challenge that is haunting the “unity” government in western Libya, and troubling citizens, despite a previous decision to evacuate these stores from populated areas.
Since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, Libya has faced widespread chaos in the spread of weapons and ammunition, with military warehouses near population centers. UN reports estimate that there are about 20 million weapons in the country, which reflects the scale of the challenge.
The dangers of munitions are not limited to explosions, as official figures indicate that 487 casualties have been caused by mines and explosive ordnance since May 2020, including 175 dead, 312 injured, and 87 children.
