52 in Court Over Suicide Bombings

Morocco began putting on trial 700 suspected Islamist radicals yesterday for suicide bombings which killed 44 people, including 12 bombers, in Casablanca two months ago.

The first 52 appeared at a Casablanca court on charges of "forming a criminal band, acts against the security of the state, sabotage, homicide, and causing injuries". Defendants lined up behind a bulletproof glass shield and a metal detector in the courtroom.

The first called was Mohammed el Osmani, 24, a night-watchman who allegedly was meant to be a 13th bomber but who lost his nerve shortly before his colleagues blew themselves up at hotels, clubs and restaurants.

The defendants were mostly in their 20s or early 30s, bearded and wearing long, grey Afghan-style robes.

Security officials have accused them of being related to al-Qaida, though no group has claimed responsibility for the May 16 attacks. The judges postponed proceedings until Friday to give lawyers more time to prepare.

Many of those to be tried face the death penalty. This has not been applied in Morocco since 1993, although a court handed down 10 death sentences against radical Islamists from a Salafist [fundamentalist] group in a separate trial which ended two weeks ago.

The alleged mastermind of the suicide bombings, Abdelhaq Bentassir, died in custody at the end of May.

Islamist violence appears, however, to be on the increase in Morocco. An alleged Islamist ran amok at the bar of a campsite in Agadir last month, stabbing seven people before killing himself, while a French tourist was reportedly killed by another Islamist in the same city recently, according to the As-Sabah newspaper.

Justice minister Mohammed Bouzoubaa said last week that more than 700 suspected militants were facing legal proceedings for terrorism. He promised "fair and equitable" trials.

Most of the suspected bombers came from the same Casablanca shanty town. The attacks caused national soul-searching on unemployment and poor education, regarded as making young men susceptible to extremist preachings.