Moroccan lawmaker slapped, Istiqlal party members suspended

The National Preparatory Committee for the Eighteenth Congress of the Istiqlal Party announced the suspension of Youssef Abtoui and Achraf Abroun from the committee. This follows Abtoui's act of slapping parliamentarian Moncef Al-toub in front of party members.

The committee, in a statement, said the decision came «after reviewing the unacceptable behavior displayed by Youssef Abtoui and Achraf Abroun during the National Preparatory Committee meeting for the 18th Congress, held on March 2, 2024 in Bouznika».

In a separate statement, the Independent Unity and Equality Team in the House of Representatives expressed «absolute solidarity» with their member, MP Moncef El-toub. The team condemned the incident as a «heinous and irresponsible attack» and called it an attack «on all its members», according to a statement signed by their president, Noureddine Mediane.