The Murder of Hanane “Bint Mellah”

A case that shocked Rabat

Moroccan reporting identifies the victim as Hanane Iraqi, widely referred to in coverage as Hanane “Bint Mellah.” She was 34. In June 2019, she was found in serious condition in or near Rabat's old-city Mellah area after suffering a prolonged violent assault that included sexual violence.

Hanane later died from the injuries. The case became a national issue after a short video connected to the assault circulated on social media. Crime by Region does not reproduce the footage or its graphic content because doing so would add spectacle rather than factual value.

Investigation and multiple defendants

Police and prosecutors developed a case against a principal defendant and a group of other people alleged to have participated in, facilitated, recorded or failed to report aspects of the crime. Moroccan reporting used initials and nicknames inconsistently for some defendants, so this file does not expand partial identities into uncertain full names.

The principal defendant faced accusations including intentional homicide with premeditation, unlawful confinement, torture or cruel acts and sexual violence. Other defendants faced different allegations, including participation, failure to assist a person in danger, failure to report a serious crime and recording or distributing images without consent.

The February 2020 judgment

On February 10, 2020, the first-instance criminal chamber of the Rabat Court of Appeal issued its judgment. The principal defendant was convicted and sentenced to death. Moroccan outlets also reported a 20-year prison sentence for another defendant and five-year terms for eight other defendants, while one person who had been prosecuted while free was acquitted.

The structure of Morocco's serious-crime courts can be confusing in translation: the judgment came from a criminal chamber housed within the Court of Appeal but sitting at first instance. Contemporary reporting stated that the defense intended to appeal. Because this archive did not locate a sufficiently reliable later source establishing the final appellate disposition, it does not describe the death sentence or the other sentences as finally exhausted through every level of review.

Why the archive uses “Partial / Convictions Recorded”

The homicide itself is not treated here as an unexplained disappearance or an unidentified-victim case. A trial produced major criminal convictions. The limited “partial” label is about appellate finality: the reviewed sources establish the 2020 first-instance outcome, but do not establish a later final cassation result with enough confidence to present it as definitive.

This distinction is deliberate. A conviction at one stage is a fact; saying that all appeals are finished is a separate fact and requires its own source.

Timeline

June 2019: Hanane is found critically injured in Rabat after a violent assault and later dies from her injuries.

July 2019: circulation of video connected to the abuse drives broad public attention and demonstrations by rights advocates.

2019: prosecutors bring a multi-defendant criminal case involving homicide, sexual violence and related offenses.

February 10, 2020: the Rabat first-instance criminal chamber convicts the principal defendant and sentences him to death; other defendants receive prison sentences and one defendant is acquitted.

February 2020: contemporary reporting states that defense counsel would appeal.

Current status

As of August 30, 2026, the 2020 convictions are well documented in multiple Moroccan sources. This page does not claim a final appellate result beyond what those sources establish. If a later appeal or cassation ruling is located in an authoritative record, the archive should be updated rather than inferred.