Abdellatif Hammouchi
عبد اللطيف الحموشي
Hammouchi in 2019
Director of the DGST
Assumed office
15 December 2005[1]
Preceded byAhmed Harrari
Advisor to Mohammed VI on counter-terrorism
Assumed office
1999
Personal details
Born1966 (age 57–58)
Taza, Morocco

Abdellatif Hammouchi (Arabic: عبد اللطيف الحموشي; born 1966 in Taza, Morocco) is the head of the Moroccan national police directorate, the General Directorate for National Security or DGST (French: Direction Générale de la Sureté Nationale) as well as head of secret services, the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance or DGST (Formerly known as the DST, French: Direction de surveillance du territoire).[2]

He is also an advisor to Mohammed VI on terrorism-related affairs.

Early life

He graduated from the University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah in Fes and joined the police as an officer in 1993.[1] After Hamidou Laanigri left the DST a day after the Casablanca bombings of 16 May 2003 and was appointed as the Director of the General Directorate for National Security, he was replaced by his deputy Ahmed Harrari, who was replaced by Hammouchi in December 2005.[1]

Controversies

On 20 February 2014, while Hammouchi was attending a meeting with French officials in Paris, he was summoned by a French judge to testify on torture cases after multiple complaints by torture victims, such as Zakaria Moumni, against him and his organisation.[3][4][5] His name has been often cited in connection to secret detention centres in Morocco such as the Temara interrogation centre and the Ain Aouda secret prison.

In Morocco lawsuits against the DST and Hammouchi in connection to the death of detainees under torture have been rejected for lack of evidence.[6]

In April 2011, Moroccan journalist Rachid Niny was imprisoned after he published sensitive details about Abdellatif Hammouchi.[7] In 2011, Hammouchi received an Alaouite Wissam decoration from Mohammed VI in recognition of his efforts for maintaining security.[8]

Decorations

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c "Maghress : DGST : Abdellatif Hammouchi remplace Ahmed Harrari". Aujourd'hui le Maroc. 16 December 2005. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  2. ^ Driss Bennani; Mohamed Boudarham (24 September 2011). "Enquête. L'homme le plus secret du royaume". Telquel. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  3. ^ "Zakaria Moumni a déposé plainte contre le patron de la DST marocaine". Demain Online. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  4. ^ "Une ONG demande l'audition d'Abdellatif Hammouchi en visite en France". Demain Online. 21 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  5. ^ Aziz El Yaakoubi; Patrick Markey (2 February 2014). "Morocco summons French ambassador over torture lawsuit". Reuters. Retrieved 23 February 2014.
  6. ^ "Le tribunal rejette la plainte de Mejjati". Les Ecos. 17 February 2010. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  7. ^ Ali Lmrabet (28 April 2011). "Rachid Niny placé en garde à vue". Demain Online. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  8. ^ Ali Anouzla (15 August 2011). "Paradoxes ramadanesques". Lakome.com. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  9. ^ "Abdellatif Hammouchi : Portrait d'un insaisissable homme de l'ombre". Médias24 (in French). 2014-10-23. Retrieved 2022-04-27.
  10. ^ "Abdellatif Hammouchi bientôt promu Officier de la Légion d'honneur". Médias 24 (in French). 2016-01-15. Retrieved 2022-11-22.
  11. ^ "España premia al jefe policial de Marruecos con la máxima distinción de la Guardia Civil". El Faro de Ceuta. 23 September 2019.
  12. ^ Ministerio del Interior: "Real Decreto 549/2019, de 20 de septiembre, por el que se concede la Gran Cruz de la Orden del Mérito de la Guardia Civil al Director General de la Dirección General de Seguridad del Territorio de Marruecos y Director General de la Policía Nacional de Marruecos, señor Abdellatif Hammouchi" (PDF). Boletín Oficial del Estado (228): 104787. 23 September 2019. ISSN 0212-033X.
Categories