Thirteen others were handed prison sentences ranging from five to 30 years. Relatives wept when the verdicts were read out at the court in Sale near the capital Rabat. | The defendants cried "God is greatest" and "I place my fate in God's hands", according to eyewitnesses. |
The government said the Casablanca suicide bombings were carried out by disaffected youths from grindingly poor neighbourhoods on the fringes of the city who had been brainwashed by Islamic extremists. More than 3,000 people have been arrested since the attacks on suspicion of terrorist activity. Many were released but hundreds were jailed after trials.
According to the authorities, Addad was the head of a radical Islamist group named As-sirat Almoustakim (The Straight Path). But his defence lawyer, Mohamed Ben Sahraoui, said the sentences handed out on Friday were unfair. "There is no proof from the courts of their guilt," Sahraoui said. "If they have explosives they must be produced ... The court didn't even ask for witnesses." He said the defendants' statements had been extracted from them by force.