Mohamed Mustapha Tabet (1939 – September 5, 1993), also known as Hajj Tabet or Hajj Hamid, was a Moroccan serial rapist and former police commissioner. He was convicted of the kidnapping, rape, and assault of more than 518 girls and women in his Casablanca apartment between 1986 and 1993. He was sentenced to death in March 1993 and executed by firing squad in September of that year. As of 2025, he remains the last person executed in Morocco.
Early Life and Career
Tabet was born in Casablanca, French Morocco, in 1939, the son of a Quranic teacher. After graduating high school in 1960, he worked as an Arabic teacher in Beni Mellal, where he was promoted to headmaster before resigning. He returned to Casablanca and enrolled in the Royal Police Academy in Khenifra in 1974. He entered the Renseignements Généraux (RG), Morocco's police intelligence agency, in 1975, and was promoted to commissioner in 1976. By 1989, he had become the head of the Casablanca bureau of the RG. He was known as a highly religious man and earned the nickname "Hajj" after making a pilgrimage to Mecca.
Crimes
According to the indictment, Tabet admitted to regularly going to school gates, university faculties, and main boulevards with the aim of "hunting his prey." He would take victims to his apartment, where he filmed most of his assaults using hidden remote-controlled video cameras. He confessed to spending over 5,000 dirham per month on prostitutes and producing videotapes that he allegedly sold overseas. Tabet used his position as a police commissioner to cover up his crimes, and colleagues in the police force often destroyed evidence to prevent charges from being brought against him.
Arrest and Investigation
In August 1992, a Moroccan student in Milan recognized his sister in a pornographic video. After traveling to Casablanca and investigating, he recorded his sister's confession and sent the videotape to the Italian embassy, which passed it to the Prime Minister's office. King Hassan II ordered an immediate investigation. On February 2, 1993, the Royal Gendarmerie raided Tabet's house, seizing two remote-controlled video cameras, 118 videotapes, identity cards of women, cocaine, and a computer list of victims' names and addresses. The Royal Gendarmerie counted 518 confirmed victims, though estimates ranged as high as 1,200.
Trial and Conviction
Tabet's trial began on February 18, 1993, held in camera during Ramadan. He was charged with indecent assault, defloration, rape with violence, abduction, false imprisonment of a married woman, acts of barbarism, incitement to debauchery, and falsification and destruction of evidence. All 118 videotapes (except one, numbered 32, which allegedly contained footage of Moroccan notables and high-ranking officials) were screened in court. During a six-hour screening, a lawyer fainted and was taken to hospital. Tabet claimed the victims were willing participants or prostitutes and that he had intercourse with up to 1,500 women. On March 15, 1993, he was found guilty on all charges and sentenced to death by firing squad. Thirty accomplices received sentences ranging from five months to 20 years in prison.
Execution
On September 5, 1993, at Kenitra Central Prison, Tabet was taken to a forest area, tied to a pole, and executed by four snipers from the Auxiliary Forces. His last words were reported as: "I am condemned for things that everyone else does. Except that the people who were sentenced with me have nothing to do with this story!" He was the first person executed in Morocco since 1982 and remains the last as of 2025.
Legacy
Tabet is buried in Achelh Cemetery, Casablanca. A film directed by Nabyl Lahlou, Tabite or not Tabite, was based on his trial. The case is regarded as one of the most egregious examples of police corruption and sexual abuse in Morocco's history.
