Morocco suspends all judicial ties with France

Morocco has halted all judicial ties with France after lawsuits were filed in Paris against the kingdom’s intelligence chief over his alleged “complicity in torture.”

The Moroccan Justice Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday that it made the decision “to eliminate the distortions that have affected them.”

It also recalled the judge responsible for liaising with France on the agreements.

The attempt was “a serious attack on the basic rules of cooperation between the two countries,” the statement added.

A French NGO on Thursday filed two civil lawsuits against Abdellatif Hammouchi over his alleged role in the torture of a Sahrawi independence activist jailed for 30 years in 2013.

Moroccan officials are also angry that policemen were sent to inform Hammouchi of the accusation during his official visit to Paris.

French President Francois Hollande has called Morocco’s King Mohammed VI to reassure him of France’s “constant friendship” and “dispel misunderstandings.”

On Tuesday, thousands of protesters held an anti-France demonstration outside the French Embassy in the capital, Rabat.

French Foreign Ministry spokesman, Romain Nadal, said Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and his Moroccan counterpart discussed the issue on Tuesday “to dispel any misunderstandings.”