Hespress has learned from its sources that the Court of Financial Crimes in Rabat has decided to summon 11 defendants to appear before it on December 10, to begin the appeal phase of one of the most controversial judicial cases related to suspicions of manipulation of rulings issued by the Court of Appeal in Tetouan.

The threads of this case go back to 2023, when the wife of one of the judges under investigation released recordings in which she spoke about her husband’s involvement, along with other judges, lawyers and employees, in suspicious mediation operations and the sale of rulings in exchange for money and privileges.

Two judges, a number of lawyers and employees, along with a contractor and a notary, are being prosecuted in this case on serious charges ranging from bribery and corruption to abuse of power and tampering with court files, as well as failure to report.

The list of those being investigated includes lawyers from the Tetouan, Casablanca and El Jadida bar associations, in addition to a judicial delegate who was previously convicted in a case related to drugs and tampering with official records.

The upcoming appeal hearings are expected to reveal new information about the course of the questionable cases, through the defense arguments and the public prosecution’s comments, before the final verdicts are pronounced in a case that is among the largest cases witnessed by the Court of Appeal in Tetouan and has brought back to the forefront the debate on confidence in the judiciary.