Two Dutch men sentenced to death in Morocco for mistaken-identity murder of judge’s son

Two Dutch men convicted of a 2017 mistaken identity killing in Marrakech have been re-sentenced to death. The Court of Appeal in Casablanca issued the verdict, confirmed by their lawyer Bob Kaarls after reports by De Telegraaf. The victim in the case was the son of a judge.

The incident concerns a November 2, 2017, shooting on the terrace of Café La Crème in Marrakech’s Hivernage district, carried out by two men, Shardyone S. (34) and Edwin R.M. (30), firing from a motorcycle. Moroccan investigations indicate the original target was the café owner, a Dutchman of Moroccan descent.

The intended victim switched places, however, and the son of a senior Moroccan judge, a 26-year-old medical student, was killed. Two women were also wounded but survived.

Morocco has not executed the death penalty since 1993. Still, Kaarls said the men cannot serve their sentences in the Netherlands while the death sentence stands. He noted that a treaty between the two countries allows prison sentences to be transferred, but explicitly excludes the death penalty.

The lawyer intends to take the case to Morocco’s Supreme Court once more in an effort to annul the death penalty, believing there is a “real chance of success.” If that fails, they will seek to have the sentence converted through a separate procedure.

The two men had previously received the death penalty in 2023, but Morocco’s Supreme Court sent the case back to the Casablanca Court of Appeal, criticizing the lower court for not adequately assessing the men’s roles and behavior.

In the same case, other defendants, including café owner Mustapha el F. and several Dutch citizens holding Moroccan passports, were given reduced sentences when the Moroccan court reviewed the case again at this stage.