Mohammed Tabet

Mohammed Mustafa Tabet (1949 – September 5, 1993), known by his nickname Hajj Tabet, was a Moroccan serial rapist and former police commissioner who was involved in the kidnapping, rapes and assaults of more than 500 women in his Casablanca apartment from 1986 to 1993.[1] The case became one of the most egregious examples of police corruption in the country, as Tabet used his status to dismiss and cover-up evidence of his crimes. He would eventually be convicted, sentenced to death and subsequently executed by firing squad in 1993.[2]

Early life

Mohammed Mustafa Tabet was born in 1949, in the city of Beni Mellal. After graduating high school in 1970, he joined the local police force, where he worked as an informant before enrolling in the police academy in Khenifra four years later.[2] By 1989, he had attained the rank of police chief of Casablanca, had married twice and had a total of five children. However, he had also gained infamy with the locals due to the numerous complaints lodged against him, predominantly by young women and girls, that he had approached them in his car, kidnapped and raped them at his apartment on Abdallah Ben Yassine Street.[3] Rumors claimed that Tabet used his position to cover-up his crimes, and his colleagues in the police force often destroyed any pertinent evidence to prevent charges being brought against him.[2]

Arrest and investigation

In 1993, the 44-year-old Tabet was arrested at his apartment by the Royal Moroccan Gendarmerie on charges of kidnapping, illegal deprivation of liberty and rape, after a woman working in Italy sent a letter to the Court of Appeals.[3] His wife and children, who lived in another house, denied any knowledge of his crimes. During the arrest and the raid of his apartment, police found 118 video tapes documenting Tabet abusing his victims. The Public Prosecutor later described them as "[...] not only pornographic recordings, but the most horrific recordings in the history of humanity.", while the Moroccan press named the case one of the worst examples of police corruption and cover-ups in the country's history.[2]

Trial, conviction and execution

At his trial, Tabet was charged with rape, human trafficking, incitement, kidnapping and attacking 500 women in his apartment over a 3-year period. At trial, he admitted to the authenticity of the tapes, and that at least 10 of the city's supervisors and other senior police officers had aided in destroying evidence. Despite this, Tabet argued that the victims were willing participants.[2]

On March 15, 1993, Mohammed Tabet was convicted on all charges and sentenced to death, and on September 5, 1993, he was executed by firing squad in Kenitra Prison.[2] To this day, he remains the last person executed in Morocco.[3]

See also

References
  1. Sadi Mrabet (August 16, 2019). "الحاج ثابت.. الكوميسير المغتصب وآخر المعدومين في المغرب" [Hajj Thabet, the rapist commissioner and the last person executed in Morocco] (in Arabic). Belpresse. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021.
  2. Abdul Majeed Jazouri (April 14, 2021). "ملفات من تاريخ المغرب : آخر كلمات الحاج ثابت قبل إعدامه الذي لم ينه قصته المثيرة" [Files From The History of Morocco: The Last Words of Hajj Thabet Before His Execution, Who Did Not Finish His Exciting Story] (in Arabic). Arifi. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021.
  3. Abdel Salam Al Shamikh (September 17, 2010). "قضية "الحاج ثابت" .. هكذا أعْدمَ الرّأي العام أشهر "كوميسير" بالمغرب" [The case of 'Hajj Tabet': This is how public opinion got the infamous police commissar in Morocco executed] (in Arabic). Hespress. Archived from the original on September 1, 2021.
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