morroco_2022.jpeg

Morocco and Western Sahara

Capital city — Rabat

+
Panorama
Contributor(s)Observatoire marocain des prisons (OMP) / independent experts

Latest updates

Individual acts of protest are recorded

yes, hunger strikes

All hunger strikes must be reported to the director of the prison service, to the prisoner’s family and in the cases of untried prisoners, to the judicial authority (Penitentiary law, article 131).

  • The number of hunger strikes totalled 1,158 in 2021, according to the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (Observatoire marocain des prisons, OMP). This number has increased from previous years. The primary motives for these strikes are to protest sentences and verdicts (79% of cases) and object to prison conditions (16%).

    i
    09/08/2022
    / Telquel

  • On 22 December 2022, Reporters Without Borders criticised the imprisonment conditions of the Moroccan journalist Omar Radi at the Tiflet prison.

    Omar Radi considered performing a symbolic hunger strike for Human Rights Day. He informed prison management by letter that he planned to strike for 24 hours starting 9 December at 18.00. Prison management reportedly refused to provide him with food well before the start of his strike. He was also assaulted by a prison officer inside of his cell. The officer allegedly used violent language and confiscated Radi’s entire food supply, which was returned to him two days later infested with vermin.

    i
    22/12/2022
    / Reporters Without Borders

All inmates are admitted to prison with a valid commitment order

no

The 1999 penitentiary law provides for it in article 15. The 2011 Moroccan Constitution defines arbitrary or secrete detentions such as “extremely serious crimes” in article 23.
However, such cases are suspended. In particular, for individuals pursued for acts of terrorism or menaces against national security. They are generally arrested without this being mentioned. They are detained in private areas and are sometimes interrogated under torture.
Arbitrary detention could result from surpassing the maximum duration of pre-trial imprisonment (one year). Such irregularities have been recorded. 1

In 2014, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) statedthe lack of assistance against arbitrary imprisonment.

  1. United Nations Council for Human Rights, “Working Group Report on Arbitrary Detention- Morocco Mission”, 2014, p. 8. ↩

  • Around 120 people were being held prisoner for their political or religious opinions as of September 2021, according to the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (Association marocaine des droits humains, AMDH). The association also identified dozens of summonses, arrests and judicial proceedings on similar grounds.

    i
    21/06/2022
    / Association marocaine des droits humains (Moroccan Association for Human Rights)

Prison density

160 %

i
07/2020
/ The Moroccan Observatory of Prisons

  • The prison occupancy rate has reached 156.17%, according to the latest report from the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (Observatoire marocain des prisons, OMP). The Marrakech-Safi region has the highest rate in the country, 154.31%. Overcrowding is not an issue in only four of the country’s twelve regions: Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra (77.78%), Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma (80.33%), Oriental (96.88%) and Drâa-Tafilalet (99.63%).

    i
    09/08/2022
    / Telquel

Number of death sentences

79

i
2021
/ Moroccan Royal Prosecutor

  • At least four death sentences were issued in 2021, according to the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (Association marocaine des droits humains, AMDH). Two of them were in El Jadida and Tangier.

    i
    21/06/2022
    / Association marocaine des droits humains (Moroccan Association for Human Rights)

  • El Hassan Daki, the King’s Attorney General at the Court of Cassation and president of the Public Ministry, announced that the number of prisoners sentenced to death in Morocco was decreasing year on year. At the opening on the general assembly of the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty (la Coalition marocaine contre la peine de mort, CMCPM) on Friday 18 March 2022, he announced that the country recorded 79 death penalty sentences in 2021 compared to 197 in 1993. He explained this phenomenon was thanks to the decrease in capital punishment sentences and the use of royal pardon.

    i
    19/03/2022
    / LesÉco.ma

Number of prisoners who have been granted a presidential pardon or amnesty during the year

6,338

In 2020, At least 6,338 prisoners were gratend a pardon.

i
01/2020
/ Middle East Eye, Le 360 Afrique, Morocco World News

  • The king pardoned 1,459 prisoners to celebrate Throne Day. Seventy-four prisoners were released before the end of their sentences, and 1,375 had their sentences reduced.

    i
    30/07/2022
    / Telquel

  • For Mawlid al-Nabī on 9 October 2022, the king granted ten pardons of remaining prison sentences. He also granted 488 sentence reductions and ten commutations of life sentences.

    i
    08/10/2022
    / Hespress

Number and percentage of prisoners who participate in sport activities

34.9 % (29,239)
i
2018
/ DGAPR, "Activity Report 2018", p. 151.

  • The 400 juvenile prisoners at the El Arjat 2 prison participated in social and athletic activities on 28 and 29 June, organised by the Royal Moroccan Federation of sport for all (Fédération royale marocaine de sport pour tous, FRMSPT). The participants competed in team and solo sports, and could win prizes. The FRMSPT also organised similar events in other prison facilities, such as Khouribga, Azrou, Bouarfa, Errachidia and Casablanca.

    i
    01/07/2022
    / Hespress

Health care is free

yes

  • During a “health caravan” event, 700 prisoners from the Nador prison received medical consultations and medication for free. Eleven medical specialties were represented, and forty doctors – specialising in ophthalmology, pulmonology, dermatology, endocrinology and diabetology, cardiology, psychiatry, and urology, for example – were able to provide care to prisoners.

    i
    31/05/2022
    / Hespress

There are designated places for cultural activities

yes

Cultural activities take place in the prison education centre. Workshops which are regularly offered are painting, drawing, literature and music.

  • At the Kenitra prison, a cultural café hosted meetings with writers, debates and film screenings during the 27th annual International Book Fair.

    i
    03/06/2022
    / Hespress

Prisoners are allowed to pass diplomas and entry examinations

yes

Prisoners can take the same exams in prison as they could outside. Exams take place in the prison education centre. They are supervised and organised by teachers from the national education sector.
The number of prison training centres increased from 15 to 48 between 2019 and 2020.1

  1. General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR), “2020 Report”, 2020, p. 21 (in French). ↩

  • The number of prisoners who applied for the baccalaureate exam in June 2022 was 205 (102 at the Kenitra prison and 51 in Khemisset).

    i
    18/06/2022
    / Hespress

  • More than half of prisoners who took their baccalaureate exams in 2021 passed. Among those, 97% passed with distinction.

    i
    Albayane

The prison service implements measures to fight illiteracy

yes

The Ministry of Religious Endowments and Islamic Affairs and the National Agency for the Eradication of Illiteracy take care of literacy classes.
A total of 7,767 people enrolled in literacy programs during the 2019-2020 school year. 1

  1. General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitatio, “2020 report“, 2021, p. 51 (in French). ↩

  • The prison service’s “Prisons without illiteracy” (Prisons sans analphabétisme) programme has benefitted over 52,000 prisoners since 2016. According to the prison service, the illiteracy rate has dropped by 40% since the programme’s implementation.

    i
    L'Opinion

Policies for prevention of violent extremism and radicalisation have been implemented. These policies lead to the creation in 2017, of the Moussalaha program, started by a joint effort between the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation, the Rabita Mohammadia des Oulémas1, the National Human Rights Council (Conseil national des droits de l’Homme, CNDH) and the Mohammed VI Foundation (la Fondation Mohammed VI). Prisoners sentenced for acts of terrorism or extremism take part in this program. Participants numbered 50 in 2018.2

The prison administration also set up an awareness and information campaign about “tolerance culture and openness towards others”.

  1. Fondation created by King Mohammed VI for teaching and promoting Islamic studies. ↩

  2. General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation “2018 Activity report”, 2019, p. 59 (in Arabic). ↩

  • The “Musalaha” (Reconciliation) programme aims to deradicalise and reintegrate extremist prisoners. During its 10th annual event, 239 extremist prisoners participated, and 180 were released. Zero cases of re-offending were recorded. The programme has been offered to female prisoners since its 5th edition. This programme is only open to candidates who have shown a willingness to reconsider their radical ideas and who have requested to participate via a reasoned, written application. These requests are examined to ensure that they are not motivated by opportunism, with the sole objective of receiving a pardon. The programme includes several components: religious education, human rights, and a psychological evaluation with video recordings of statements from the friends and family of victims of terrorism.

    i
    11/08/2022
    / L'Opinion

Daily cost of meals per prisoner

-

  • The budget allocated to feeding each prisoner is 23 dirhams (about 2.30 euros) per day, according to the authorities.

    i
    30/06/2022
    / Aujourd'hui

The law establishes a minimum standard for living space per prisoner

no

However, the framework for Moroccan prisons (Référentiel pénitentiaire marocain) recommends a minimum of 5.4m2 per person in an individual cell. It must be 3.4m2 in a dormitory (rule 31). Rule 45 states that where there is overcrowding “the minimum floor area for a living space must not be less than 2m2 per person”.
Moroccan prison facilities are mostly overpopulated and do not abide by the framework.

  • The average surface area allotted to each prisoner is 2 m2 across the country’s prisons.

    i
    30/06/2022
    / Aujourd'hui

Every prison facility has a health care unit

yes

Each prison has one infirmary (Penitentiary law, article 125).

The infirmary is provided with the same equipment as a public clinic. It allows access to general care and treatments, and ensures the isolation of contagious diseases.

  • A telemedicine platform is available in 22 prison facilities.

    i
    01/11/2022
    / L'Opinion

The prison service offers activities to prisoners

yes

Access to activities depends on the category of the prisoner. (See Organisation Section)

  • In November 2022, the prison service organised a conference and debate in the Beni Mellal prison. The conference was hosted by a writer, who discussed his publications about the region’s history.

    i
    20/11/2022
    / L'Opinion

Torture, violence, and ill-treatment allegations are signaled by the Moroccan NGOs and prisoners themselves to the Executive Officer.

  • On 8 November 2022, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International spoke out against the arbitrary detention of 19 Sahrawi men. They were convicted and have been imprisoned for 12 years on the basis of their suspected involvement in the violence that occurred on 8 November 2010 in Laâyoune. Eleven police officers and three civilians were killed after a protest encampment was broken up by law enforcement. The trials were fraught with “confessions” obtained through torture.

    The United Nations’ Committee against Torture condemned Morocco in 2021 for violations of the Convention against Torture in three cases related to this event. The Committee questions the probative value of the delayed investigations led by the Moroccan justice system concerning these allegations of torture. Since 2017, the 19 men have been scattered across the country. Most of them had lived in Laâyoune before but are now over a thousand kilometres away. They all ask to be transferred to closer prisons.
    Several of them led several hunger strikes to protest the violations of their fundamental rights, in particular as they have been refused care and family visits and have been excessively placed in solitary confinement.

    i
    10/11/2022
    / Human Rights Watch

Variation in the capacity of the prison facilities

increase

The total surface area of Moroccan prison facilities surpassed 158,505 m² in December 2018 to 159,505 m2 in September 2019. The Public Minister Officer reported 5,800 additional beds between 2018 and 2019. In 2019, the DGAPR inaugurated new prisons in the cities of Tantan and Berkane. Prison construction in d’Oujda, Asilah, Larache, and El Jadida two is ongoing.
In 2019, the DGAPR announced the construction on a new prison in Dakhla, with a capacity of 600 beds.

  • On 1 November 2022, the prison service announced that construction had finished at the local prison Al Jadida 2 and at wastewater treatment plants in 4 prison facilities, and renovations had finished at the local prison of Khemisset. It also announced that work would continue at the Laâyoune and Tamesna prisons and would begin at the local prison Essaouira 2.

    i
    01/11/2022
    / L'Opinion

  • In 2021, two new prisons with a total capacity of 1,580 were opened in Dakhla and Asilah.

    i
    22/04/2022
    / Aujourd’hui Le Maroc

  • Overall prison capacity increased by 40% between 2013 and 2021. The prison service (DGAPR) annual report indicated that each prisoner was allocated 1.93 square metres of space.

    i
    22/04/2022
    / Aujourd'hui Le Maroc

The prison administration puts programmes in place to guarantee access to adequate medical treatment, especially for the care of prisoners with tuberculosis and those living with HIV/AIDS1 The care of the sick, especially from tuberculosis remains insufficient.

  1. DGAPR, “2018 activity report”, pp. 95-96. ↩

  • The prison service (DGAPR) opened regional dialysis units within certain prisons. This measure was the result of a partnership between the Ministry of Health, National Human Development Initiative (l’Initiative nationale pour le Développement humain, INDH), the Mohammed VI Foundation and the Amal Foundation. As part of the national program to reduce cases of tuberculosis –which affect about 30,000 prisoners a year– for 2030, medical screening and testing would be carried out more regularly and 17 laboratories were set up.

    i
    08/12/2021
    / Albayane

Prison guards must follow initial training, followed by a competitive entrance exam. They must have their high school qualifications.
The training includes, in chronological order:

  • two months of training at the National Centre of Executive Training (CNFC)
  • one month, in-prison internship
  • three months of training at the CNFC.

Training is the same for all prison staff. Position choices are made after the training. Only prison doctors receive specialised initial training.

  • According to the national prison service (DGAPR), around 300 prison staff members undertook training in human rights and the prevention of torture in 2021.

    i
    22/04/2022
    / Aujourd'hui Le Maroc

Specific activities are planned for minors such as intensive teaching and cultural, religious and artistic activities. These activities are mostly organised by associations or by the Council of Ulemas (an institution which supports religious policy in Morocco). [^act] [^act]: Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR), “Activity report 2018”, 2019, p. 161 (in Arabic).

  • Minors in Ain Ali Moumen Prison in Settat benefitted from social sports activities during the month of Ramadan. The Renaissance Sportive de Settat, a Moroccan football club and the local prison administration and provincial authorities organised a football match at the prison. Gifts and prizes were given out to prisoners at the end of the match. A group iftar 1 was also organised for women and minors.

    1. Refers to the breaking of the fast during Ramadan. It corresponds to the meal eaten once the sun has gone down. ↩

    i
    18/04/2022
    / Aujourd’hui Le Maroc

Number of deaths attributed to suicide

Data not disclosed

The number of deaths attributed to suicide is not included in the official statistics.

  • A prisoner sentenced to death for acts of terrorism hanged himself from the window of his cell in Toulal 2 Prison in Meknès. He suffered from mental health issues and was receiving treatment both in prison and at the local hospital.

    i
    01/01/2022
    / Hespress

  • A prisoner hanged himself in his cell in Kenitra Central Prison in the northwest of Morocco. He was serving a sentence for acts of terrorism. Morocco’s General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration (Délégation Générale à l’Administration pénitentiaire et à la réinsertion, DGAPR) advised that he suffered mental health issues and that he seemed to have been affected by the fact that his wife had been victim of a scam.

    i
    14/03/2022
    / L’Opinion

Women have access to workshops on:

  • dress-making and embroidery
  • hairdressing and beauty
  • manual work
  • breadmaking and baking
  • literacy
  • housekeeping
  • carpet weaving

Women who are detained in units within facilities for men have fewer possibilities for training than others.

Some activities, such as electrical work or plumbing, are for men only.

  • Aïn Sebaâ 1 women’s prison in Casablanca opened up a new cultural and artistic innovation studio. It aimed to help women pursue their studies by providing cultural cafés, remote lectures and a fully equipped recording studio. The prison service (DGAPR) emphasised that this allowed prisoners to record various creations and interact with teachers remotely. The program would run throughout the year. Those using the studio said that the project allowed them “to forget for a moment the prison routine and feel like [they were] outside the prison walls”.

    i
    09/03/2022
    / L'Opinion

Number of people serving non-custodial sentences

-

  • The ADALA Association for the Right to a Fair Trial advocated, in the context of a larger panAfrican campaign, for the decriminalisation of minor offences in favour of alternative sentences. The association believed that the number of people imprisoned for “minor” offences was excessive.

    i
    26/12/2021
    / Hespress

The prison service is required to ensure that prisoners sentenced to death maintain family ties. However, these people are isolated and rarely receive visits. The main reasons for this are the geographical distance from the central prisons and the “dishonour” felt by families. A sense of abandonment is widespread among prisoners sentenced to death.

Following their visit in September 2012, the UN Special Rapporteur reported that living conditions on death row in Morocco are classed as cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

  • Prison Insider has published the account of Khadija Amrir, condemned to death in 1995 and freed on 2 August 2016, following a succession of royal pardons for good conduct.

    “They would tell me that if I ever got transferred, it would be because I was going to be executed. I couldn’t get a wink of sleep. I accepted my fate, but I was terrified of being put to death. I was able to stay in touch with my father on a regular basis. When I was sentenced to death, he got divorced from my step-mother. He wanted to see me free before he died - it was his dream, and it came true. He died 40 days after I was freed, at the age of 103“.

    i
    01/02/2017
    / Prison Insider

The prison service does not provide special protection for LGBTI prisoners. These people are in a highly vulnerable position within prisons. They are often the target of attacks.

  • Prison Insider has published the account of Sama, a trans woman serving a sentence in the Boulmharez prison because of her gender identity.

    “And he slapped me hard. I felt my head spin with the third slap. I was scared. So, I signed a statement without even reading it. I later realised that he wrote that I admitted to homosexual relations, which are punishable by the Moroccan law. I was transferred to Boulmharez prison and locked up, again with only male prisoners…”

    i
    06/07/2019
    / Prison Insider

It is not guaranteed that prisoners can maintain family ties during their time in solitary confinement. Isolated prisoners are not allowed visits. The prisoners can write letters but only to their family. Prisoners in solitary confinement maintain their right to freely communicate with their lawyer.

  • Ali Aarrass is being held in isolation, in spite of the decision on 27 March 2017 by the Committee of the United Nations against torture, which ordered Morocco to put an end to this regime. The Belgo-Moroccan was arrested for the first time in 2006 in Spain at Morocco’s behest, on suspicion of terrorism. He was extradited to Morocco in 2010 where he is serving a 12-year sentence. The United Nations working group on arbitrary detention has been unsuccessfully demanding his release since 2013, after he was tortured in Moroccan prisons.

    His sister, Farida Aarrass, has given an account of a visit to her brother in 2017 in Tiflet 2, which is available here.

    i
    10/04/2017
    / Prison Insider