Real estate developer Abdelaziz Ouadii Sanhaji was sentenced on Wednesday by the Court of First Instance of Kenitra to two years in prison for "involuntary homicide" in the case of the collapse, on 16 January 2008 in Kenitra, of a building under construction called Al Manal, which left 18 dead and 25 injured.

Abdelaziz Ouadii Sanhaji was also sentenced to a fine of 20,000 dh for not declaring employees to the CNSS and another of 100,000 dh for non-compliance with urban planning and safety rules on a construction site.

Following this verdict, the defence appealed the judgement.

Abdelaziz Ouadii Sanhaji had been prosecuted, in a state of freedom, since 2009 in this case which had made headlines at the time. His son, Fayçal Wadii Senhaji, had been sentenced in the same case to 3 years in prison in the first instance, a sentence which had been reduced on appeal in February 2009 to one year in prison.

In total, eight people, including the head of the design office, the site manager and the architect, had been sentenced at the time, on appeal, to sentences ranging from one year suspended to 15 months in prison for "involuntary homicide", "involuntary injuries" and "non-compliance with urban planning and construction rules".

The technical expertise report ordered by the Court had concluded that the four-hectare plot of land intended for the construction of a residential and commercial complex was not adapted to the nature of the project and that the collapse of the building was not due solely to non-compliance with construction rules.