Mohamed Amekrane

Mohamed Amekrane (Arabic: محمد أمقران; 1938 – 13 January 1973) was a Moroccan air force officer who was executed after the 1972 coup attempt against King Hassan II of Morocco, known as the "coup of the aviators".

Amekrane was tried and sentenced to death by a Moroccan court. He was executed by firing squad on 13 January 1973. He was buried at Chefchaouen on 15 January 1973. A large crowd attended his funeral. Eleven pilots were sentenced to death after a short trial. Thirty-five others were given prison terms, which they served in solitary confinement in Tazmamart prison in the southeastern desert.

In 1972 the Minister of National Defense, Mohamed Oufkir, launched an scheme to assassinate King Hassan II of Morocco. He was assisted by Amekrane and another senior officer. Amekrane's motives appear to have been patriotic, directed against the elite whom he considered to have looted his country following independence.

On 16 August 1972 King Hassan II was returning from a trip to France in a Boeing 727 passenger airplane. Four F-5 jets from the Kenitra base attacked the king's plane when it entered Moroccan air space, but although it was hit by many bullets it was not disabled and the king was unhurt. The passenger plane was able to land safely at Rabat-Salé Airport. Later, airforce units attacked the Rabat-Salé Airport and the Royal Palace of Rabat, causing some deaths.

Mohamed Amekrane was born in the Rif in 1938. In 1963 he married Malika Amekrane (born 12 August 1939), a German national. They had two children. Rashid was born on 3 February 1964 and Yasmina was born on 26 February 1965. Lieutenant Colonel Amekrane became the commander of the Moroccan air force base at Kenitra. His command included Northrop F-5 fighter jets supplied by the U.S.