A Montreal businessman who allegedly suggested on his YouTube channel that a former attorney general of the King of Morocco be “executed, then resurrected, then once again condemned and executed to death” will have to answer for a lawsuit worth 2 million brought in the Superior Court of Quebec by the Moroccan lawyer.
The accused entrepreneur, Hicham Jerando, also faces criminal charges of threatening to cause death, for the same comments targeting Najim Bensami, now an advisor to the Moroccan Ministry of Justice.
Mr. Jerando pleaded not guilty to these criminal charges during his appearance on March 8 in Montreal municipal court.
The Canadian-Moroccan businessman describes himself as an anti-corruption activist on TikTok, Facebook and YouTube, where he has more than 400,000 subscribers.
He was already found guilty of contempt of court last January for refusing to comply with an order from the Superior Court of Quebec ordering him to delete videos in Arabic in which he described, without proof, another officer Moroccan court of “crooked lawyer” linked to a “criminal network of corruption linked to the judicial system and money laundering”.
In this new case, the judicial officer who is prosecuting him, Najim Bensami, is a figure known in Morocco for having notably investigated the trials linked to the terrorist attacks that occurred in Casablanca in May 2003. These suicide attacks, carried out by a group terrorist linked to Al-Qaeda against the Belgian consulate and several businesses run by Jews, left 33 victims.
On his YouTube channel, Mr. Jerando allegedly accused Mr. Bensami of having “falsified the confessions” of defendants who were sentenced to 20 or 30 years in prison at the end of these trials.
Mr. Bensami describes these comments as “highly defamatory, false and irresponsible” and claims 1.5 million for “attack on his honor, dignity and reputation” and $500,000 in punitive damages.
He claims to have received a threatening message at his Moroccan home telling him that he “deserves to be buried alive” and to have his “head cut off as well as all [sa] family” shortly after Mr. Jerando’s videos were released.
For the purposes of the prosecution, Mr. Bensami declared himself domiciled at the office of the Montreal law firm Fasken “for security reasons”.
Director of the Chabanel Development Company
Hicham Jerando, owner of a clothing business on Rue Chabanel, was until recently a director of the District Central Commercial Development Company. He sat there alongside the mayor of the Ahuntsic-Cartierville district, Émilie Thuillier.
The organization says it has taken seriously the various accusations made against the businessman by “submitting the file to the governance committee for study and recommendation”. “A discussion took place with Mr. Jerando where he mentioned that he did not want to harm the organization and therefore would not seek a new mandate,” said spokesperson Elena Di Stefano. His role as administrator ended on March 27.
Mr. Jerando declined our request to comment on the allegations and accusations against him.
He claims on his LinkedIn page that he is vice president and director of business development for GOPS.7 aeronautics, a company that does “sales and [location] business aircraft” as well as “support in the world of aeronautics”.
On its Facebook page, the company only features posts promoting a food processor. “It appears that, although the Defendant presents himself as working in the field of aviation […]”, the company’s activities appear to be limited to food processors,” says Bensami’s lawsuit.