Rabat appeal upholds AFCON final sentences, four detainees due release from 18 April | OneFootball

According to L'Équipe, a Rabat appeal court has upheld sentences arising from the 18 January AFCON final, with four of the 19 detainees due for release from 18 April as their terms expire, including French national Lyèce M.

Lyèce M. received three months for allegedly throwing a water bottle at security inside a Senegal section. He has maintained his innocence, and his lawyer, Jaouad Benaissi, says no material evidence or stadium footage has been produced despite extensive CCTV.

Morocco’s National Human Rights Council president Amina Bouayach has said the process is normal with fair trial guarantees for the 19 detainees. Benaissi objected to her reference to the Frenchman as of Algerian origin.

Sentences for the 18 Senegal supporters, accused of violence, damage, throwing objects and pitch invasion, were also confirmed without increase. They again denied the allegations on Monday. Three are eligible for release from 18 April, while six received six months and nine one year, and lawyer Patrick Kabou may renew a royal pardon request from Mohammed VI.

Kabou said two of those given one year are from the United States and Italy, and diplomats would seek explanations from Morocco. The prosecutor rejected screening of incident videos, calling it a flagrante delicto seen worldwide, and the judge also refused defence footage, including Senegalese police bodycams. Kabou questioned the identifications and will pursue prisoner transfers to home countries.

Source: L'Équipe