The supposed level of dangerousness is part of the criteria for classification in level A, B or C.

See Organisation section for more information.

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%).
The prison administration, backed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), initiated, in 2023, a specialised training programme to handle prisoners on hunger strikes. This programme uses the guidelines from the “Manual for Managing Hunger Strikes in Penal Institutions”, a resource developed in conjunction with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the National Human Rights Council. Participants in this program will be qualified to train medical staff, including doctors and nurses, serving in prison facilities.

The law states that the officer present at the time of the incident, or who is informed of it, is responsible for reporting it as soon as possible. The incarceration supervisor then prepares a report setting out the accused prisoner’s account, witnesses’ accounts, the circumstances surrounding the incident and information on the prisoner’s character. The warden examines the report and decides whether to carry out additional investigations. They judge whether disciplinary action will be taken.

It is the warden’s responsibility to inform the director of the prison service, or the relevant judicial authority if applicable, of disciplinary measures which have been applied, on a monthly basis. They are entered in a register and recorded in the prisoner’s file. The register of disciplinary sanctions is presented to the administrative and judicial authorities during their visits to the facility.¹

The prisoner appears before the discipline commission. The commission is made up of two members, one of whom is chosen from among prison staff working at detention facilities. The two members are chosen by the director of the prison service. They have an advisory role. (Penitentiary law, article 53).
The prisoner can request assistance from a person of their choice. They present their version of the facts orally or in writing. The warden chairs the discipline commission. They can decide to call upon any person as a witness whose statement they deem useful.

The commission engages a translator or any other person appointed by the chair “whenever possible” if the prisoner does not understand the Arabic language or does not have the capacity to express themselves.¹

Isolation in solitary confinement can not exceed 45 days. (Penitentiary law, article 54).

Every decision which relates to extending solitary confinement past one month is a matter for the head of the prison service. The warden and prison doctor’s recommendations are taken into consideration. (Penetentiary Law, article 32).

The president of the disciplinary commission can decide to place a prisoner in solitary confinement as a precautionary measure. This type of confinement cannot last more than 48 hours. It is permitted “on the condition that this is the only way to stop misbehaviour or to maintain order in the prison” (Penitentiary law, article 58).

Minors cannot be placed in solitary confinement.