Abdellatif Hammouchi (; born 1966 in

Taza Taza () is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km south of Al Hoceima. It recorded a population of 148,406 in the 2019 Moroccan ...

, Morocco) is the head of the Moroccan national police directorate, the General Directorate for National Security or DGST (

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ''Direction Générale de la Sureté Nationale'') as well as head of secret services, the General Directorate for Territorial Surveillance or ''DGST'' (Formerly known as the DST, ). He is also an advisor to Mohammed VI on terrorism-related affairs.

Early life

He graduated from the University of Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdallah in Fes and joined the police as an officer in 1993. After Hamidou Laanigri left the DST a day after the Casablanca bombings of 16 May 2003 and was appointed as the Director of the General Directorate for National Security, he was replaced by his deputy Ahmed Harrari, who was replaced by Hammouchi in December 2005.

Controversies

On 20 February 2014, while Hammouchi was attending a meeting with French officials in Paris, he was summoned by a French judge to testify on torture cases after multiple complaints by torture victims, such as Zakaria Moumni, against him and his organisation. His name has been often cited in connection to secret detention centres in

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

such as the

Temara interrogation centre The Temara interrogation center, also known as Temara secret detention center (), is an extrajudicial detainment and secret prison facility of Morocco located within a forested area of Rabat, Morocco. It is operated by the Directorate for the Sur ...

and the Ain Aouda secret prison. The crisis between Morocco and France ended in February 2015, when the French government honored Abdellatif Hammouchi with the National Order of Merit at the rank of Officer of the Legion of Honor. This decoration was presented by Bernard Cazeneuve, the Minister of the Interior. On November 29, 2016, he was chosen as the Person of the Year by Maroc Hebdo International, recognizing his efforts in the field of security and his significant influence in essential and vital roles. In Morocco, lawsuits against the DST and Hammouchi in connection to the death of detainees under torture have been rejected for lack of evidence. In April 2011, Moroccan journalist Rachid Niny was imprisoned after he published sensitive details about Hammouchi. In 2011, he received an Alaouite Wissam decoration from Mohammed VI in recognition of his efforts for maintaining security.

Security Cooperation

On June 3, 2024, Abdellatif Hammouchi, the Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, received Vittorio Pisani, the Director General of the Italian National Police, in Rabat. This meeting was part of an official visit to the Kingdom of Morocco by a significant Italian security delegation. The visit underscored the commitment of both countries to enhance their security cooperation, particularly given the increasing security challenges faced by nations at both regional and international levels. The collaboration aims to exchange information and expertise, coordinate efforts to combat organized crime and terrorism, and ensure security and stability in both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Italy. From June 24 to June 26, 2024, Abdellatif Hammouchi, the Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, conducted a working visit to the Federal Republic of Germany. During this visit, he met with officials from both the Federal Police and the Federal Criminal Police Office to discuss ways to enhance bilateral cooperation in various security fields, particularly in combating terrorism, transnational organized crime, and ensuring the security of major sporting events.

Participation in Interpol

Given that Mr. Abdellatif Hammouchi is serving as both the Director General of Territorial Surveillance and the Director General of National Security, he actively pursues a Multilateral security cooperation strategy to enhance Morocco's position as a leading and reliable figure in various global conferences and forums devoted to countering terrorism, transnational organized crime and addressing other emerging security threats. In this regard, Mr.Hammouchi took part; as the head of Morocco's delegation; in the 92nd General Assembly of the International Criminal Police Organization,

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

which was held from November 4 to 7, 2024, in Glasgow. this international event was marked by the election of morocco as Interpol's Vice President for

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

, and culminated in handing Mr.Hammouchi the interpol flag as a prelude to hosting the next General Assembly, that will be held in

marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech (; , ) is the fourth-largest city in Morocco. It is one of the four imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakesh–Safi Regions of Morocco, region. The city lies west of the foothills of the Atlas Mounta ...

from November 24 to 27, 2025.

Decorations

Officer of the

Order of the Throne The Order of the Throne () is a state decoration of the Kingdom of Morocco awarded for distinguished services of a civil or military nature. The Order was instituted on 16 May 1963 by King Hassan II of Morocco, who reigned between 1961 and 199 ...

(2011) *

Officer of the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

of France (2016) * ESP Gran Cruz Orden Merito Guardia Civil pasador

Grand-Cross of the Order of Merit of the Civil Guard of Spain (2019):

References