After four months, the body of Moroccan killed by Algerian coastguards repatriated

The body of Abdelali Mchiouer was repatriated from Algeria to Morocco this Thursday, December 21, after four months of long administrative procedures, reads a statement by the family’s lawyers. Mchiouer was killed on August 29 by the Algerian army, at the maritime border with Saidia.

The family expressed its «greatest gratitude to those who, in the shade or in daylight, anonymous or public figures, from the lawyers to the staff of the Consulate General of Morocco in Sidi Bel Abbes, headed by Consul Abderrahim Chakir, showed persistent activism and constant dedication, without which Abdelali's return (…) would probably not have been possible».

The day after the murder, the Oujda prosecutor's office indicated that it was investigating the case in Morocco. After the autopsy, supervised by the Moroccan judicial authorities, the burial arrangements will be made public by the family.

Through its lawyers, the family of Abdelali Mchiouer, killed alongside Bilal Kissi, announced in September that they had contacted the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions to conduct an investigation. During a press conference at the time, relatives expressed their dismay at the obstacles to the repatriation of Mchiouer's remains.

Pushed by sea currents from the Moroccan side, the body of Bilal Kissi was recovered at the end of August and buried in his home country. According to testimonies from relatives of the victims, they were lost at sea, while jet-skiing, then they found themselves on the Algerian side.

Contrary to Algeria's version of the story, they initially indicated that the fatal shootings had not been preceded by a warning. Injured during the tragedy, a third Moroccan national is still detained in Algeria.