Badr Bouljoihel
Badr Bouljoihel was a 23-year-old doctoral student. Moroccan reporting identified him as a student associated with the Faculty of Science and Technology in Mohammedia. On the night of July 30, 2023, he was with friends at a fast-food restaurant in Casablanca's Aïn Diab district when a confrontation developed in the parking area.
The attack involved a physical assault followed by the use of a vehicle in the parking lot. Badr died and companions were injured. Surveillance footage and other video from the scene became central to public reporting and the subsequent investigation, but this dossier does not rely on graphic descriptions of that material.
Investigation and arrests
The suspects left Casablanca after the attack. Moroccan authorities traced members of the group toward Laâyoune, and arrests followed. The prosecution ultimately brought five defendants before the criminal chamber in Casablanca on charges that differed according to their alleged roles in the attack and escape.
Some reporting and later appellate testimony differed over exactly which defendant was driving the vehicle at the decisive moment. That disputed point is not resolved here by choosing one media version over another. Instead, this file reports the convictions and sentences actually imposed at first instance and notes that testimony continued to be contested on appeal.
First-instance judgment
In April 2024, the criminal chamber in Casablanca convicted the principal defendant, identified in reporting as Ashraf R. and known by the nickname “Ould Lefchouch,” of premeditated murder and additional offenses and sentenced him to death. A second defendant received life imprisonment. Two others received prison terms of 25 and 20 years, while a fifth defendant received five years for conduct connected to assisting the escape.
These sentences established criminal responsibility at the trial level. They did not, however, make the case procedurally final. The defense pursued appeals, and the appellate chamber continued taking testimony and reviewing the case well into 2026.
Appeal proceedings
Appellate hearings remained active in 2026. In March and April, Moroccan reporting described defendants revisiting earlier statements about who had been driving. In June 2026, the Casablanca Court of Appeal postponed the case again, setting a further hearing for July 8.
For that reason, the page is labeled Solved / adjudicated at trial — appeal pending. It records the trial convictions without claiming that every sentence or factual dispute had become final on appeal.
Timeline
July 30, 2023: Badr Bouljoihel is attacked in the parking area of a fast-food restaurant in Aïn Diab, Casablanca, and dies after the confrontation.
Following days: investigators identify suspects and make arrests after members of the group leave Casablanca toward southern Morocco.
April 2024: the Casablanca criminal chamber imposes a death sentence on the principal defendant, life imprisonment on a second, prison terms of 25 and 20 years on two others, and five years on a fifth defendant.
2025–2026: the appellate process continues, with repeated hearings and postponements.
June 10, 2026: the appellate chamber postpones proceedings to July 8, 2026.
Current classification
The murder of Badr Bouljoihel is classified Solved / Adjudicated at trial, with the important qualification that appeals remained pending in the latest reliable material reviewed. The site's label reflects established trial-level responsibility while preserving the procedural reality that the appellate process had not yet concluded.