Morocco’s king pardons Islamists

Published on Monday 6 February 2012 01:03

Morocco’s King Mohammed has issued pardons to several leading Islamists, signalling a less hardline approach after moderate Islamists came to power in an election last year. The prisoners covered by the pardon included leading figures in Salafia Jihadia, an Islamist group authorities say helped orchestrate a wave of suicide bombings in Casablanca in 2003, which killed 45 people.

International human rights groups say after those attacks, hundreds of Islamists were jailed on fabricated charges, sometimes after being tortured.