Mohamed Amekrane ( ar, محمد أمقران; 1938 – 13 January 1973) was a
Moroccan air force officer who was executed after the
1972 coup attempt against King
Hassan II of Morocco, known as the "coup of the aviators".
Background
Mohamed Amekrane was born in the
Rif
The Rif or Riff (, ), also called Rif Mountains, is a geographic region in northern Morocco. This mountainous and fertile area is bordered by Cape Spartel and Tangier to the west, by Berkane and the Moulouya River to the east, by the Mediterrane ...
in 1938.
In 1963 he married Malika Amekrane (born 12 August 1939), a German national.
They had two children. Rashid was born on 3 February 1964 and Yasmina was born on 26 February 1965.
Lieutenant Colonel Amekrane became the commander of the Moroccan air force base at
Kenitra
Kenitra ( ar, القُنَيْطَرَة, , , ; ber, ⵇⵏⵉⵟⵔⴰ, Qniṭra; french: Kénitra) is a city in north western Morocco, formerly known as Port Lyautey from 1932 to 1956. It is a port on the Sebou river, has a population in 201 ...
.
His command included
Northrop F-5
The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and t ...
fighter jets supplied by the U.S.
Coup attempt
In 1972 the Minister of National Defense,
Mohamed Oufkir, launched an scheme to assassinate King Hassan II of Morocco.
He was assisted by Amekrane and another senior officer.
Amekrane's motives appear to have been patriotic,
directed against the elite whom he considered to have looted his country following independence.
On 16 August 1972 King Hassan II was returning from a trip to France in a
Boeing 727
The Boeing 727 is an American narrow-body airliner that was developed and produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes.
After the heavy 707 quad-jet was introduced in 1958, Boeing addressed the demand for shorter flight lengths from smaller airpo ...
passenger airplane.
Four F-5 jets from the Kenitra base attacked the king's plane when it entered Moroccan air space,
but although it was hit by many bullets it was not disabled and the king was unhurt.
The passenger plane was able to land safely at
Rabat-Salé Airport.
Later, airforce units attacked the Rabat-Salé Airport and the Royal Palace of
Rabat, causing some deaths.
Aftermath
The same evening Oufkir was called to the palace, where he died of multiple bullet wounds. His death was officially said to have been from suicide.
After learning that the attack had failed, Amekrane ordered the crew of a helicopter to transport him and another officer to
Gibraltar
)
, anthem = " God Save the King"
, song = " Gibraltar Anthem"
, image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg
, map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe
, map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green
, mapsize =
, image_map2 = Gib ...
, where he requested asylum.
At first they were held in the officers mess, but later were imprisoned in
Lathbury Barracks
Lathbury Barracks was a military barracks in the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar now used by civilians. It is located in the southern part of the Rock of Gibraltar, Rock, south of Spur Battery on Windmill Hill ...
.
They were told this was for their own protection.
After brief negotiations between the British and Moroccan governments, a Moroccan air force unit landed in Gibraltar and took the fugitives back to Morocco.
The British Foreign Secretary Sir
Alec Douglas-Home later said that it was agreed they would not be executed.
Amekrane was tried and sentenced to death by a Moroccan court. He was executed by firing squad on 13 January 1973.
He was buried at
Chefchaouen
Chefchaouen ( ar, شفشاون, Shafshāwan, ), also known as Chaouen (), is a city in northwest Morocco. It is the chief town of the province of the same name and is noted for its buildings in shades of blue, for which it is nicknamed the "Blu ...
on 15 January 1973.
A large crowd attended his funeral.
Eleven pilots were sentenced to death after a short trial.
Thirty-five others were given prison terms, which they served in solitary confinement in Tazmamart prison in the southeastern desert.
The day after the attempted coup, Malika Amekrane left the country with her children and went into hiding.
She appealed to the British for compensation under the
European Convention on Human Rights
The European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR; formally the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms) is an international convention to protect human rights and political freedoms in Europe. Drafted in 1950 by ...
.
The British denied liability but made an ex-gratia payment of £37,500.
See also
*
M'hamed Ababou
*
Mohamed Ababou
*
Mohamed Medbouh
Mohamed Medbouh ( ar, محمد المدبوح; b. 1927 in Aknoul - d. 10 July 1971 in Skhirat) was a senior Moroccan Army officer. He was Minister of Posts, Telegraphs and Telephones in the government of Abdallah Ibrahim (1958-1960). He was co-o ...
References
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amekrane, Mohammed
1938 births
1973 deaths
Failed regicides
Moroccan military personnel
Riffian people
Moroccan colonels
Executed Moroccan people
Moroccan military officers
People executed by Morocco