Morocco's prison system faces significant challenges, primarily due to overcrowding and the need for improved detention conditions. By the end of 2023, Morocco’s prison population had surged to approximately 102,653 inmates, exceeding the system’s capacity by 159%. This situation has led to various issues, including the spread of diseases, incidents of torture, and general mistreatment of detainees. The Moroccan Prisons Observatory (OMP) has raised the alarm over the emergency situation in the country’s prisons amid the growing gap between facility capacity and the actual number of inmates.
Global prison population per 100,000 people. Source: Wikipedia
Overcrowding and Its Consequences
The capacity of Moroccan correctional facilities is only 64,600 beds. With prison overcrowding at 160%, the threshold that guarantees humane conditions of detention has been far exceeded. Prisoners in the country’s facilities have an average 18.62 square feet, less than half the minimum required by the United Nations for shared cells. Individual bathroom facilities are also lacking.
The agency acknowledges that it cannot guarantee sanitary conditions in its facilities due to overcrowding, lack of ventilation, and poor sanitation. Internal security is further compromised by the uncontrolled circulation of weapons and prohibited substances in prisons, while reintegration, education, and training measures remain largely unenforceable.
Efforts to Alleviate Overcrowding
To alleviate this inhumane overcrowding - and simultaneously reduce the prison budget - the North African country has just introduced a system of alternative sentences to imprisonment. These include electronic monitoring devices, community service, and fines in exchange for days in prison for minor offenses, for which tens of thousands of Moroccans end up behind bars each year. As stipulated in the draft law, alternative penalties include working for public benefit, electronic monitoring through electronic ankle bracelets, and restricting certain rights.
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The report underscores the urgent need for alternative sentencing measures, such as non-custodial sentences, to reduce overcrowding and improve conditions. "Purchase of prison days" can only be imposed after reconciliation or a waiver issued by the victim or their relatives. Detainees cannot benefit from the procedure more than once, and they must present a reconciliation document.
The OMP is advocating for the granting of mass pardons, such as the ones issued by King Mohammed VI on July 30, on the 26th anniversary of his coronation, for nearly 20,000 inmates, as well as the release of prisoners in vulnerable situations due to age and illness. In a bulletin that was issued last Wednesday, the Moroccan Attorney General’s Office noted that short prison sentences have proven ineffective in preventing recidivism, and that their enforcement is costly for the state.
The Attorney General’s Office argued that deprivation of liberty should be avoided unless strictly necessary due to the type of crime, and favors the implementation of alternative measures. A court in Agadir in southern Morocco issued, on August 22 - the date the new regulations came into effect - its first ruling substituting a two-month prison sentence and a $58 fine with a daily fine of about $34, capped at $2,000, for the illegal sale of alcohol.
The government estimates that the alternative measures will lead to annual savings of around $35 million. Implementing Alternatives to Incarceration in Morocco: INL seeks to assist the Kingdom of Morocco, through its Ministry of Justice (MOJ) and General Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR) in implementing a community corrections/ATI system.
Morocco hopes that such measures will align its penitentiary system with recommendations from the European Council, the European Union and the United Nations, but the Attorney General’s Office admits that initial implementation of the plan will be complex in some of the country’s regions, and that the cost and maintenance of electronic monitoring equipment will limit the scope of its use.
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Challenges in Implementing Reforms
Even more disconcerting is the scarcity of the required technical tools when it comes, for instance, to electronic tagging, while considering the duty to assume the annual maintenance and operating costs; not to mention the need for sufficient trained staff. In light of all of this, crucial resources must be rallied for optimum and sustainable management of this matter.
The new legislation provides for three months’ imprisonment and heavy fines for those attempting to remove the electronic monitoring devices. The cost of the fine, which is based on the convicted person’s income, ranges from $12 to $233 per day of sanction. Repeat offenders are excluded from the new sentencing system, which will also not apply to crimes against state security, terrorism, corruption, international drug trafficking, money laundering, sexual exploitation of minors, organ trafficking or violent assault.
According to some reports, approximately 40% of all detainees in Morocco are held in pretrial detention. INL seeks to address overcrowding and pretrial detention rates by assisting the DGAPR and MOJ in developing a streamlined and effective ATI/community corrections regime within the framework of Morocco’s draft ATI law (if implemented). Additionally, the MOJ is actively working on developing a drug diversion program for non-violent offenders, and INL welcomes proposals that include rehabilitation and diversion programs in their work.
Human Rights and Detention Conditions
Human rights organizations are concerned about the massive use of torture and ill-treatment of prisoners in Morocco and Western Sahara, where political prisoners are numerous and are particularly vulnerable. Prisons are overcrowded. Existing documents and reports, which are particularly vocal on the serious matter of torture, say little about detention conditions. We know that they are highly problematic.
The report also calls for the revision of disciplinary procedures in prisons to improve detention conditions and protect prisoners from abuses. The Moroccan Prisons Observatory made several key recommendations for reform. Additionally, the observatory advocates for reforms in the pardon process, urging that more individuals be eligible for early release.
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The National Human Rights Council (CNDH) and the Regional Committees for Prison Inspection commented on prison overpopulation. In 2016, the United States State Department talked about Morocco’s prison overpopulation in their report following the human rights practices by country.
The government permitted some NGOs with a human rights mandate, as well as the CNDH, to conduct unaccompanied prison monitoring visits. Government policy also permitted foreign government officials, international visitors, and academics, as well as NGOs that provided social, educational, or religious services to prisoners, to enter prison facilities. The government reported there were 34 different institutions that engaged with the prisons to provide services such as medical care, victim care, and skills training.
Between January and June, the CNDH carried out 14 visits to prisons in Western Sahara, including eight in Laayoune-Sakia, with the stated goal of preventing practices likely to lead directly or indirectly to torture or mistreatment and engaging with authorities on human rights obligations.
International Cooperation and Support
INL supports Morocco’s efforts to professionalize and modernize the delivery of criminal justice services by implementing programming in Morocco’s law enforcement, corrections, and judicial sectors. INL’s objective is to ensure Moroccan criminal justice sector institutions (police precincts, correctional institutions, courts, and other judicial institutions) grow increasingly equitable.
Since 2010, INL has worked with the Moroccan Prison Administration, the General Delegation of the Penitentiaries and Reinsertion Administration (DGAPR), to train over 300 Moroccan prison wardens and staff in the United States on prison management concepts. With INL support from 2012 - 2014, Morocco developed and implemented its first standardized procedures for crime scene management and evidence storage and handling, to ensure that the integrity of evidence is preserved so the evidence is subsequently admissible in court.
Given DGAPR’s training infrastructure, it has become a regional hub receiving delegations each year from penitentiary administrations of Africa and the MENA region. Our staff also conduct training sessions in some countries of these regions on behalf of their personnel. An important aspect of this partnership was the organisation of the African Forum in 2020 in Rabat, which brought together countries from the African continent. The agreement signed with Senegal is one of a series of conventions concluded with other African countries.
Modernization and Strategic Plans
Overall, the strategic plan aims to provide new momentum to the DGAPR and achieve better levels of efficiency. It is based both on a human rights approach and gender equality. We have implemented programmes that proved to be efficient, making the detention premises more humane, which may have a positive impact on inmate reintegration and the reduction of overcrowding, while ensuring partial coverage of the Kingdom’s judicial map.
Since 2015, the DGAPR has implemented a comprehensive plan based on human resources that has clear objectives and specific indicators. Along with the launch of the strategic plan for the 2022-2026 period, the DGAPR created a dashboard containing monitoring indicators that enhance sporadic and systematic evaluation of the yielded results.
The DGAPR has also agreed to promote and enhance the digitalisation process through the implementation and generalisation of our integrated computer system (IDS) to all correctional facilities. As far as staff training is concerned, the strategy currently being adopted by the DGAPR is based on a wide-ranging plan intended to provide correctional personnel with manifold skills. Through enhanced data management we are improving the methods of personnel management. Biometric technology is now being adopted at all correctional facilities to monitor inmates’ identity and motion.
Judicial Independence and Legal Rights
The constitution provided for an independent judiciary, but the government did not always respect judicial independence and impartiality. The Supreme Judicial Council, mandated by the constitution and established in 2017, managed the courts and day-to-day judicial affairs, but it made limited progress in its stated mission of improving judicial independence.
Defendants had the right to attorneys, and authorities had to provide a court-appointed attorney to those who could not afford one if the criminal penalty exceeded five years in prison. Several NGOs noted arbitrary limits on defendants’ access to case files presented a significant challenge to effective legal representation. The law forbade judges from admitting confessions made under duress without additional corroborating evidence, but NGOs reported that judges sometimes decided cases based on forced confessions.
The law permitted authorities to deny defendants’ access to counsel or family members during the initial 96 hours of detention under terrorism-related laws or during the initial 24 hours of detention for all other charges, which could be extended by 12 hours with approval of the Prosecutor’s Office. Authorities did not consistently respect these limits and most reports of abuse stemmed from police interrogations during these initial detention periods.
Freedom of Expression and Political Prisoners
The constitution generally provided for freedom of expression, including for the press and other media, although speech considered critical of Islam, the monarchy, or the government’s positions regarding territorial integrity and Western Sahara was criminalized and could result in punishments ranging from fines to imprisonment.
NGOs, including the Moroccan Association for Human Rights (AMDH), Amnesty International, and Sahrawi organizations, continued to assert the government imprisoned persons for political activities or beliefs using pretextual criminal charges such as espionage or sexual assault. On July 18, Morocco’s Court of Cassation rejected the appeals of two journalists, Soulaimane Raissouni and Omar Radi, who were arrested in separate incidents in 2020. Both journalists denied the allegations, and local and international human rights groups and press freedom advocates saw both convictions as politically motivated.
Human rights organizations reported that the government harassed and surveilled human rights activists both inside and outside the country. Authorities subjected some journalists to harassment and intimidation, including attempts to discredit them through harmful rumors about their personal lives. Journalists reported that selective prosecutions served as a mechanism for intimidation and harassment.
Key Statistics and Data
The following table summarizes key statistics related to Morocco's prison system:
| Statistic | Value |
|---|---|
| Prison Population (End of 2023) | Approximately 102,653 inmates |
| System Capacity | 64,600 beds |
| Occupancy Rate | 159% |
| Increase in Prison Population (Last Decade) | 40% |
| Estimated Annual Savings from Alternative Measures | $35 million |
As Morocco continues to face these pressing challenges within its prison system, the Observatory’s report calls for swift action from authorities to implement meaningful reforms. Those reforms are currently being enacted.
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