Five years in prison for Youssef Al-Mandari, brother of the late Hicham Al-Mandari… impersonated an intelligence officer and promoted a fictional assassination narrative.
The Criminal Court in Ain Sebaa, Casablanca, sentenced three individuals from the Girando network to five years in prison, one of whom is Youssef Al-Mandari, the brother of the late Hicham Al-Mandari. He was implicated alongside Girando in crimes of defamation and spreading false claims to undermine institutions and impersonate a law enforcement officer.
The convicted appeared in several audio recordings broadcast by Hicham Girando, where he presented himself under the alias “Mohammed Al-Baqali,” falsely claiming to be a former officer in a Moroccan security agency. He deceitfully asserted that he participated in an “intelligence assassination” of Hicham Al-Mandari in an attempt to lend excitement and credibility to a fabricated scenario aimed at disrupting and defaming state institutions.
After the truth was revealed, it became apparent that Youssef Al-Mandari was merely the victim’s brother, who voluntarily participated in this media spectacle led by Girando, contributing to the blackmailing of several individuals and institutions within Morocco by promoting false information for financial gain.
The ruling reflects the Moroccan judiciary’s trend toward tightening penalties for anyone attempting to exploit sensitive matters to compromise public security or tarnish the image of the state, especially in light of the rising crimes of digital extortion and impersonation that threaten public trust in institutions.
