Morocco toughens terrorism financing laws

Magharebia

Moroccan MPs are cracking down on terror financing.

By Siham Ali for Magharebia in Rabat

[AFP/Fadel Senna] Morocco has made great strides in the legal field to tackle terror financing and money laundering, Interior Minister Mohand Laenser says.

The law aims to bring Moroccan legislation into line with international law, Interior Minister Mohand Laenser said, adding that the country has made great efforts in the legal field to tackle terrorism and money laundering.Moroccan parliamentarians sitting on the Justice Committee in the Chamber of Representatives on Tuesday (February 26th) adopted a draft law which makes the financing of terrorism a criminal offence.

“One point was raised by the international financial task force, which recommends that Morocco include provisions making the financing of terrorism a criminal offence,” he said.

The law would make it a criminal offence to provide funds in the knowledge that they will be partly or wholly used to commit a terrorist act or will be used by a terrorist or a terrorist organisation.

It would also regard the financing of terrorism as a crime even where terrorist acts are perpetrated outside Morocco or do not take place at all.

The law defines income as “all types of assets are tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, severally or jointly, as well as acts or legal documents”, aufaitmaroc.comreported.

Morocco is in a sensitive region, MP Mohamed Benabdessadek said in a speech.

“We are very much affected by terrorism. On one hand, in geographical terms, Morocco is not far from the Sahel region, which is experiencing tensions and very violent acts of terrorism,” he said.

“On the other hand, our country needs foreign funds. And international investors seek stability. Moroccan citizens also have the right to live in safety,” he added.

To achieve the desired goals, terrorism must be clamped down on while respecting rights and freedoms, Benabdessadek said.

MP Hassan Tarik agreed with Benabdessadek’s message.

Terrorism is a great danger to security, the economy, politics and society and that it must therefore be tackled while making sure that civil rights are maintained, he said.

MPs warned against accusing innocent people who have engaged in financial transactions without having any intention of financing terrorism.

“The struggle against terrorism is a sacred issue which everyone must get involved in. This struggle can be waged through democracy, justice and the consolidation of human rights,” Tarik said.

“We don’t want our country to be a stage for terrorism, but equally, we don’t want it to be a theatre of unfair judgments,” he added.

Morocco toughened up its counterterrorism laws in the wake of the terrorist attacks of May 2003 in Casablanca, political analyst Hicham Chamili said.

He added that the law passed at that time was drafted and adopted in haste and that it now needs to be completely revised, as requested by human organisations and MPs.

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