Amnesty Demands Probe into Moroccan Man’s Death in Police Custody

"The Moroccan authorities must ensure a thorough and impartial investigation into the illegal death of a man in custody on October 6, 2022. They must bring the police officers responsible for torturing the victim and failing to provide him with appropriate medical care to account in a fair trial," Amnesty International says in a public statement. The organization notes that they have taken some positive steps to investigate the man’s death and prosecuted four police officers, but "the investigation and prosecutions are tainted by irregularities and do not meet international standards." To support its claims, the international non-governmental organization says that "the investigation was partly conducted by police officers attached to the police station where Yassine Chabli died in custody, which casts doubt on the independence and impartiality of the procedure." In addition, "the alleged perpetrators were tried at first instance in Ben Guerir for simple acts of violence and negligence, not torture," it points out.

Amnesty International has recalled the facts: "On October 6, the regional hospital in Ben Guerir, a city in southeastern Morocco, declared that Yassine Chabli, a 28-year-old former security agent of the national phosphate mining company, had died. The day before, he had been arrested in a local park by police and placed in custody at the Ben Guerir police station." The organization assures that the documents in its possession regarding this case "strongly suggest that the victim was tortured in custody and died from lack of care by the authorities." And to continue: "Police officers beat Yassine Chabli several times in the face and body. They locked him alone in a cell, handcuffed for more than seven hours, isolating him from the other detainees. They did not check on Yassine Chabli’s condition for several hours, even though they had beaten him and knew he was in a state of intoxication at the time of his arrest, exposing him to health risks and neglecting their duty of diligence towards a person in their custody."