20111029
Press TV
A Moroccan court has issued a death sentence for a man who was the mastermind behind a bomb attack that killed 17 people in the city of Marrakesh in April.

On Friday, the court in the northwestern city of Sale gave the death sentence to 25-year-old Adil al-Atmani, who was the leader of a group of nine men that carried out the bombing on April 28, AFP reported.

The court also gave a life sentence to Atmani's accomplice, Hakim Dah, and sentenced the rest of the defendants to three to four years in prison.

It was the first death penalty issued in Morocco since 1992.

Eight French nationals, three Swiss citizens, and three Moroccans were among the 17 people who were killed in a cafe in the Djemaa El-Fna square of Marrakesh.

According to security sources, Atmani left two bags containing bombs on the cafe terrace and triggered the explosion with a mobile phone.

The father of one of the victims, who was a 40-year-old woman, criticized the ruling on Friday, saying, “The world will laugh at your justice. Morocco betrayed me.”

In 2003, 45 people were killed in bomb attacks in the coastal city of Casablanca.