Idris Radi Convicted to Four Years of Imprisonment Following Complaint from Interior Minister Letfitt
The Sidi Slimane Court has sentenced former parliamentarian and former leader of the Constitutional Union Party, Idris Radi, to four years in prison for charges related to the forgery of administrative documents and their use to unlawfully appropriate collective lands belonging to the Ouled Hnoun community in the administrative area of Qasiba, located within Sidi Slimane province.
The court also handed down a three-year prison sentence to his brother, Karim Radi, following a complaint lodged by Interior Minister Abdel-Wafi Letfitt after scrutiny of files concerning requests for exploitation and the cutting of trees on land owned by the aforementioned community, which spans over 102 hectares.
The case dates back to Idris Radi’s applications to local authorities and water and forest services for a permit allowing him to cut down and exploit forest trees planted on plots of land owned by the collective community, claiming to legally own this land—a claim that investigations revealed to be false, as they uncovered irregularities and forgery in the ownership documents he relied on.
Investigations revealed that the submitted documents were marred by legal violations, prompting the Ministry of the Interior to file a lawsuit against Radi, marking a direct step by the state to counteract the abuses relating to the exploitation of collective lands by elected officials and influential figures.
This ruling comes amidst a series of judicial actions targeting elected officials and businessmen linked to cases of land appropriation, which were once considered sensitive due to the intertwining of interests and local influences.
The judgment, which has sparked considerable reaction in local circles, serves as a clear message that the judiciary is taking action on issues that have long been deemed out of reach of accountability, particularly those related to the abuse of power and manipulation of communal land ownership, which represents a strategic real estate asset in many regions of the kingdom.
