Morocco retains the death penalty for ordinary crimes and military crimes.

Morocco retains the death penalty for ordinary crimes and military crimes. Art. 16 of the Moroccan penal code provides the death penalty for aggravated murder, torture, armed robbery, arson, treason, desertion and attempt on the King's life. Following the May 16, 2003, bombings in Casablanca in which 43 people lost their lives, the government has started a real and proper war on terrorism.   A new anti-terrorist law passed by parliament in May 2003 broadened the range of capital crimes by making ordinary crimes punishable by life imprisonment under the Criminal Code eligible for the death penalty if designated as terrorist crimes. Up to August 17, 2005, over two thousand people had been accused of various crimes linked to terrorism: 903 of these are currently serving prison sentences whilst 17 of them have been sentenced to death.   The death penalty is subject to pardon, which remains the constitutional prerogative of the Sovereign. King Mohammed VI has never yet signed a death warrant since taking power in July 1999. On August 6, 2003 Moroccan Justice Minister Mohamed Bouzoubaa declared himself in favour of the abolition of the death penalty in the country. He said that a debate amongst Moroccan jurists on the death penalty was increasingly oriented towards abolition. By October 2003, the number of death row inmates in Morocco had reached 156, according to local human rights groups. The last execution in Morocco was carried out in 1993. Then, a police commissioner named Mohammed Tabet, head of general intelligence in the north African country, was sentenced to death and executed shortly afterwards for abusing his position and raping hundreds of women and young girls. On November 18, 2005 King Mohammed of Morocco pardoned or reduced the prison sentences of 10,000 people to mark the 50th anniversary of independence. It was the largest ever number of prisoners involved in a royal pardon, which was customary in the North African kingdom to mark national and religious holidays. Local media said the widely expected move was also aimed at relieving the country's overcrowded prisons. A total of 5000 prisoners would be released immediately and a further 5000 would have their sentences reduced. They included 336 foreigners and 25 detainees who had their death sentences commuted to life imprisonment. A senior ministry official said there were no Islamic militants jailed on terrorism charges among those pardoned. He had no details on the nationalities of foreigners affected.