MARRAKECH - There is a glimmer of hope for two Curaçaoans from the Netherlands who were sentenced to death in Morocco for a case of mistaken identity in the La Crème café in Marrakech in November 2017. The pair, Shardyone Semeleer (32) and Edwin Martina (28), were hired to kill a rival of Ridouan Taghi but accidentally shot and killed the son of a high-ranking Moroccan judge instead. 

This month, Morocco's highest court has referred the case of the two “rasta shooters,” as they are called by De Telegraaf, back to the court in Casablanca. According to the highest judges, insufficient consideration was given to the cooperative stance of the two Dutchmen during their appeal. Their lawyer, criminal defense attorney Bob Kaarls from The Hague, has confirmed this. 

Mitigating Circumstances 

The two made a confession and also disclosed who else was involved in the murder. The judges believe the court should have taken this into account as a mitigating circumstance when determining the sentence. There is now a possibility that the death penalty could be converted into life imprisonment or another lengthy prison sentence in a new trial. 

This decision has significant consequences for the two death-row inmates. They have already spent seven years under harsh conditions in isolated death cells measuring two by two meters. They sleep on the ground, and the cell is so cramped that they have to lie diagonally. Although the death penalty is no longer enforced in Morocco, their outlook was very grim. 

Transfer 

Due to their death sentence, the two were not eligible to serve their sentence in the Netherlands. If they are sentenced to life imprisonment in the new trial, a transfer to a Dutch prison may be possible in the future, according to crime reporter John van den Heuvel. 

The case is notable in multiple respects, as the clients and the murder broker received much lighter sentences. A cousin of Taghi was sentenced to six years in prison, and two brothers of Taghi received longer sentences but neither life imprisonment nor the death penalty. Shardyone Semeleer and Edwin Martina appeared to have been used as “cannon fodder” by the Mocro mafia. 

They were monitored by the Moroccan security service upon their arrival due to their distinctive Rastafarian hairstyles and were arrested shortly after the attack. Although they initially denied everything, they later decided to cooperate with the Moroccan police after their conviction and shared information about the background of the attack. 

Mistaken Identity Murder 

Edwin Martina stated that Taghi was behind the attack and was also involved in the murder of his younger brother. The two Curaçaoan perpetrators of the mistaken murder hoped that by cooperating, they would receive a lighter sentence. They also claimed after their arrest to know of a hit list that included the name of Peter R. de Vries. 

The intended target of the Marrakech murder was the Moroccan-Dutch man Mustapha el F., also known as Moes “No Limits,” who had switched seats on the terrace of his café shortly before the attack, thereby escaping death. He was arrested after the failed attack and convicted of money laundering.