On Thursday, October 30, the Appeal Court in Tangier issued a ruling in the case of French billionaire Jacques Bouthier, accused of human trafficking and sexual exploitation within his company “Vilafi,” formerly “ASO 2000.” The court annulled significant convictions and substantially reduced the sentences from the initial judgment handed down in July 2024, which totaled 34 years of imprisonment.
The appellate ruling, announced in the presence of the defendants after accepting the appeal, reclassified many charges and acquitted most defendants of the serious crime of human trafficking resulting in psychological harm, as well as sexual harassment and complicity in these crimes. The court also dismissed convictions related to failure to report a crime against some defendants, stating that the evidence was insufficient to prove major offenses while sustaining some secondary misdemeanors such as corruption and using false promises to obtain false testimony.
### Details of the Appellate Rulings
The most notable changes involved the main accused, Lubna H., who was initially sentenced to ten years in prison for trafficking and harassment. In the new ruling, she was acquitted of trafficking and failure to report, and her sentence was reduced to just four years of imprisonment. Her husband, Hamza, whose initial sentence was six months’ imprisonment, had his sentence upheld without modification.
For the principal accomplices, initially sentenced to four years each, the rulings were as follows:
– Rashid M., Iman B., and Zakaria A.: Acquitted of trafficking and harassment, with their sentences reduced to six months’ suspended imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 dirhams.
– Mohammed Y. B. and Idris A.: Acquitted of trafficking, with their sentences reduced to six months’ imprisonment and a fine of 1,000 dirhams.
– Emmanuel F.: Charges reclassified to corruption under Article 490 of the penal code, with his sentence reduced to six months’ imprisonment.
The court ordered all defendants to jointly pay court costs and lifted the temporary judicial measures against them, including pre-trial detention. The defendants were informed that they have ten days to file a cassation appeal.
### Civil Lawsuit: Referral to Other Courts and Reduced Compensation
In the civil aspect, the court annulled the compensation initially granted to most victims, ruling it lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate their claims. This included claims from Meryam A., Samira A., Anas B., Kawthar A., and Ikram A., with costs remaining their responsibility.
Meanwhile, Rehana A.’s claims against most defendants were also ruled as outside the court’s jurisdiction, with the case referred to the appropriate authorities. However, the compensation awarded to Rehana A. against Lubna Hamiri was reduced to 50,000 dirhams, with the latter responsible for the costs.
### Context
The case began in June 2022 following complaints from six former employees of the company in Tangier, sparking widespread debate about the protection of foreign and Moroccan workers in foreign companies, particularly with Bouthier’s involvement, as he missed most sessions. The public prosecutor had initially sought aggravated sentences of up to 30 years for deterrence, while the victims’ defense argued for compensations exceeding five million dirhams, deeming them inadequate to compensate for the psychological and social suffering.
Conversely, the defense for the accused insisted on their complete innocence, claiming the accusations were based on fabricated complaints driven by revenge or diplomatic tensions between Morocco and France, which have since been overcome. One of the lawyers called for the protection of judicial independence to avoid politicization.
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