Algeria Releases 60 Moroccan Migrants, Hundreds Still Detained

These men, from different cities in Morocco, including Fez, Oujda, Nador and Marrakech, were returned to Morocco through the Jouj Bghal border post in Oujda. Arrested and sentenced to prison terms in Algeria, they were then placed in administrative detention.

The Moroccan Association for Assistance to Migrants in Difficult Situations in Oujda, which announced the news, indicates that some of these young people had spent "more than three and a half years in prison, in addition to a year of administrative detention." While these 60 young people have finally been able to return to their country, the Association says that "hundreds" of others are still in administrative detention in Algeria, awaiting their repatriation.

The administrative procedures and diplomatic tensions between the two countries complicate the process. Despite the breakdown of diplomatic relations, the Algerian and Moroccan authorities, through the Moroccan consulates in Algiers, Oran and Tlemcen, are trying to facilitate the return of the detained migrants.

The Association also recalls that in addition to these repatriated young people, more than 480 Moroccan nationals would still be detained in Algeria, awaiting trial or in pre-trial detention. Among them, six people have died, including two young women from eastern Morocco. Their families still hope to be able to repatriate their bodies.

Faced with this situation, the Moroccan Association for Assistance to Migrants is multiplying initiatives. It has alerted the International Committee of the Red Cross, which has started visiting some detainees. It has also sent a letter to the Algerian President, to several ministers of his government, as well as to the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and the National Council of Human Rights in Morocco.