Moroccan king receives phone call from French president

King Mohammed VI of Morocco received last night a phone call from French President Francois Hollande, a statement from the Royal Cabinet said. “During the meeting, the two leaders discussed the current context of Moroccan-French relations following the developments in recent days,” the statement said. “In light of the clarifications in this regard, the two leaders agreed to continue contacts in the coming days between the two governments, and work in the spirit of exceptional relations that bind Morocco and France,” the statement concluded. Relations between Morocco and France witnessed a rare diplomatic spat after a French non-government organization filed two lawsuits against the head of Morocco’s domestic intelligence Abdellatif Hammouchi for alleged complicity in torture. The lawsuit filed by Moroccan activists in France accuses the Moroccan intelligence service, known by its French acronym DST, of torturing them while in detention in Morocco. During a visit by DST chief Abdellatif Hammouchi to France this week, French police officers went to the Moroccan embassy to ask about him, the Moroccan Foreign ministry said in a statement. “It is a serious and unprecedented incident regarding the relationship between the two countries which could affect the climate of confidence and mutual respect between Morocco and France,” the statement said.