Moroccan man handed two-year jail term for praising terror attack in Israel
Member of banned Islamist group denies hailing the stabbing of four people in Tel Aviv as the beginning of a ‘blessed racist campaign’; lawyer says he will appeal ruling
A Moroccan Islamist activist has been sentenced to two years in prison for “incitement to hatred” over social media posts praising a stabbing attack in Israel, his lawyer said on Tuesday.
Redouane El Kastit, a member of the banned but tolerated Al Adl Wal Ihssane movement, was sentenced by a court in Tangier late Monday, his lawyer Mohamed Serroukh told AFP.
El Kastit was arrested on February 5 and charged with “incitement to hatred,” “discrimination,” and “insulting a public body” after about 15 posts he made on Facebook, his lawyer said.
According to the prosecution, the posts described a late-January stabbing of four people in Tel Aviv as the start of a “blessed racist campaign.”
El Kastit denied making the posts on social media, the lawyer added.
He was also accused of posting a photo of the attacker, Abdelaziz Kaddi, and praising his Moroccan identity.
“The court considered this an endorsement of a terrorist act,” Serroukh said.
The lawyer said he will appeal the “harsh ruling.”
Kaddi, a US green card holder, arrived at Ben Gurion International Airport in late January and was granted entry by border authorities after being questioned by the Shin Bet, despite his profile reportedly raising some suspicions. Days later, he stabbed four people in Tel Aviv, two of whom were hospitalized in moderate condition. He was shot and killed during the attack.
Israel and Morocco normalized diplomatic relations in 2020. Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, Moroccans have demonstrated in the tens of thousands against the kingdom’s ties with the Jewish state and in support of Palestinians.
