King Mohammed help instructions to family killed in Belgium
Morocco, Culture, 5/13/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has issued instructions to bring all needed assistance to the family of a Moroccan couple shot dead by a Belgian man who also injured two children in the locality of Scharbeek, in Brussels.

Morocco's ambassador in Belgium, Mustapha Salahdine, said on Friday at a moving ceremony held after the "dead prayers" were performed the sovereign has offered his condolences to the couple children, made orphans "by intolerance and rejection of the other."

The sovereign denounced the act as a racist and odious crime that runs counters to the lofty values of religious and democratic ideals and that shocked public opinion, the diplomat said. He also hailed the dignity, maturity demonstrated by the Moroccan nationals living in Belgium and lauded the Belgian authorities' efforts to shed light on the crime circumstances.

A host of Belgian officials attended the moving ceremony to show the Belgian government's sympathy and compassion, including home minister Antoine Dusquesne, the mayor of the Scharbeek, imams, two deputy premiers, heads of political parties in addition to Arab ambassadors in Brussels.

The Belgian man, said to have racist inclinations, went on a shooting rampage, killing the couple and injuring two of their four kids before setting ablaze the Moroccan family apartment with the couple's four kids in. The murderer was later on found dead in his house located in the same building.

He had been sentenced two years ago to a six-month prison sentence for aggressing a youngster who lost an eye.

Previous Stories:
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  King Mohammed deplores Iraqi and Palestinian children sufferings   (5/11/2002)
  Belgian kills two members of Moroccan family, injures kids   (5/8/2002)
  Moroccan elderly inmate in Italy wants to be operated on at home   (5/3/2002)

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