Royal Air Maroc Retreated From The Prosecution Of Messahel

Royal Air Maroc retreated from the prosecution of the Foreign Minister, Abdelkader Messahel, for the charge of insulting a royal company because of the statements which he made months ago and talked about the Moroccan drug trafficking on its flights.

According to information leaks, the Moroccan public airline began the proceedings to sue the official of Algerian diplomacy on January 20, at the French court, where it appointed La Ram and two French lawyers who are specialized in the press law, along with a Moroccan lawyer who is described as close to the royal palace, to lift the judicial file to the dean of investigating judges in Paris, in order to be abandoned the procedure originally.

The case, which angered the Moroccan airline and the government there, is back to the statements that were made by Messahel at the summer forum of the Forum of Heads of Enterprises last October, in which he responded to the concerns of the participants and refused to describe Morocco as the model for the region in the field of investment and economy. 

According to the Foreign Minister, Messahel, Morocco is laundering the proceeds of cannabis trafficking in African banks. 

He confirmed that he heard this from heads of states, and that the Moroccan airline was transporting travelers and other things, and he meant by other things “Hashish” (drugs), especially since Morocco was the first drug producer in the year, according to International reports.

The Royal Moroccan Airlines denounced Messahael’s statements, saying: “What he said was a blatant ignorance of the air transport sector as a highly regulated area by qualified international bodies at the highest level, and then made a promotional announcement saying that the company was transporting things other than passengers, and it aims Moroccan fans for this year’s World Cup in Russia.

Officially, Rabat summoned its ambassador to Algeria, but returned it after a while, while the Prime Minister, Ahmed Ouyahia, stood by the Foreign Minister, Abdelkader Messahel. 

The executive official confirmed the government’s solidarity in the country’s foreign policy.

In the midst of the “tension” that characterized the relationships, Ouyahia saluted King Mohammed VI at the African-European summit that was held in the Ivory Coast, and Ouyahia refused to give any interpretations of what he said. 

The participation of the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, was also noted at the 5 + 5 meeting at the level of Foreign Ministers, in Algeria, a few days ago, as he was the first Moroccan official to set foot in Algeria two years ago, as the summit noticed “a warm embrace” between Messahel and his Moroccan counterpart.

Despite the protocol nature of the meetings between the two countries’ officials, that does not go beyond the handshake in front of cameras, Algeria has maintained its positions towards Morocco, especially the drug file, and the handling of Messahel and Ouyahia at the African summit in Ethiopia last week, to accuse Rabat of flooding Algeria with tons of drugs, and that “The great flow of drugs to Algeria is an insult to the common future of the Maghreb peoples”.