France seeks arrests in Moroccan political kidnap

By Thierry Leveque

PARIS (Reuters) - France has issued international arrest warrants for four Moroccans over the 1965 abduction of a high-profile opponent to Morocco's then King Hassan II, an event that has embarrassed the two nations for four decades.

The head of Morocco's Royal Gendarmerie and a former intelligence chief are among the suspects being sought.

Mehdi ben Barka, a hero for the international left, was kidnapped in broad daylight in front of the smart Lipp restaurant in the heart of Paris and his fate remains unknown. French investigators believe he was tortured and killed.

The case is a cause celebre for Moroccan advocates of greater political freedom in the kingdom, but it remains politically sensitive in Rabat, where the late Hassan's son Mohammed succeeded him as king in 1999.

A French Justice Ministry spokesman said on Friday four arrest warrants had been sent to Interpol, the international police organisation, and would now be issued worldwide.

Those targeted are: Hosni Benslimane, head of the powerful Adarak el Malaki, or Royal Gendarmerie, for more than four decades; Abdelkader Kadiri, a former head of intelligence; and Miloud Tounsi and Abdelhak Achaachi, two ex-agents.

"This is an important victory for me and I hope that Morocco will finally make some progress on this case," said Maurice Buttin, 80, the ben Barka family lawyer in France since 1965.

"The more they delay, the more it shows the responsibility of Morocco and of King Hassan II," he told Reuters.