Rabat – Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) has firmly rejected allegations by French newspaper Le Figaro, which claimed an investigation into the disappearance of a French citizen in Rabat in 2024 had been delayed.
The DGSN stressed today in a statement that its services are actively pursuing an investigation in line with the legal procedures.
It emphasized that Le Figaro’s report presented the matter inaccurately and included allegations attributed to individuals involved in the case who claimed the investigation was delayed and that investigators had not responded to a request from the missing person’s family.
Le Figaro identified the missing person as a 29-year old man called Clement Besneville, who converted to Islam. He chose to live in Rabat, viewing it as the “land of Islam.”
DGSN outlined the investigation procedure, stressing that its task forces conducted field operations, technical analyses, and requisitions– within the limits of what is legally permissible to disclose in an ongoing judicial case.
It detailed that the case dates back to April 13, 2024, when Rabat’s prefectural police services received a report concerning the disappearance of a French national from the apartment he was renting.
Preliminary assessment revealed no indications of a criminal offense, no sign of forced entry or theft, and all personal belongings, electronic devices, and money belonging to the missing person were all found on site.
Crime scene experts and the national laboratory of scientific and technical police also thoroughly examined the missing person’s apartment as well as that of someone who had accompanied him shortly before his disappearance, using advanced forensic equipment.
DNA samples were also collected from both locations, but no evidence supporting a criminal theory was found.
DGSN said police referred the case of the French national to the National Brigade of Judicial Police in Casablanca, with investigators interviewing everyone who had been in contact with the missing person – including those who spoke with him by phone or were part of his acquaintance.
The overall investigation amounted to 60 interviews and interrogation reports.
Investigators also examined several electronic devices belonging to the missing individual. They found no data that could enable the relocation of the missing person.
Police also retraced the route of Moroccan cities the missing person visited, including Tetouan and Chefchaouen, with investigators traveling to both cities and interviewing all persons he met there.
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Police issued dozens of requests for information and technical requisitions to telecommunication companies, banks, financial institutions, and the customs relating to the missing person’s financial transactions, communications prior to his disappearance, and a foreign-registered vehicle he had used at some point in Morocco.
No indication of criminal activity was detected, DGSN said.
The team investigating the case also submitted international security cooperation requests to trace the missing person’s financial transfers, with inquiries confirming the same results as the prior investigations.
“Contrary to the claims published by Le Figaro, and rejecting allegations targeting the investigation team, the DGSN affirmed that the missing person’s family had been received more than five times at the headquarters of the Regional Judicial Police Brigade in Rabat. They were informed of the progress of the investigation and were handed over their son’s personal belongings, with a formal report prepared to this effect upon instruction from the public prosecutor,” DGSN said.
Police also responded to all requests made by the French liaison officer in Morocco, including those related to phone tips received by the missing person’s father, suggesting sightings in several cities, like Casablanca, Mohammedia, Ifrane, Azrou, Khenifra, and Fez, and in some mountainous areas in the High Atlas.
DGSN deployed six search teams across all these location including one team that conducted field investigations for over than three weeks in the High Atlas region.
Police also issued an urgent search notice to all services for any French national matching the missing person’s description.
DGSN’s statement concluded that they found no evidence of the French citizen undergoing religious radicalization or extremist links within the national territory, contrary to Le Figaro’s claims.
DGSN continues its investigation in full compliance with legal procedures, stressing that the recent legal action taken was carried out on January 20 of this year, the statement added.
