10 alleged members of a radical Islamic group which...

10 alleged members of a radical Islamic group which was suspected of having been involved in the 16 May 2003 suicide attacks in Morocco that killed 44 people were sentenced to death.
The 31 alleged members of Salafia Jihadia on trial had been arrested ahead of the attacks on various charges including murder.
The Casablanca appeals court, meeting as the court of first instance, also sentenced eight to life in prison. Seven were sentenced to 20 years in jail, five received 10-year terms, and one person received a one-year term. Their suspected leader Yussef Fikri, who admitted in court of having "killed enemies of God" and has been dubbed the "Emir of Blood" by the media, was among those sentenced to death.
Also given the death penalty was Mohamed Damir, considered to have been Fikri's second in command. After the announcement of the death sentences, shouts of "Allah akbar" (God is great) by the defendants nearly drowned out the reading of the rest of the verdicts. Defence lawyers had complained during the trial of procedural irregularities, imprecise information in police files, and lack of irrefutable proof.