Guinean Migrant Jailed in Morocco on Human Trafficking Charges

Moussa Camara had left Guinea to realize his dream, that of reaching Spain via Morocco. An ephemeral dream. After a stay with his sister in Mauritania, he goes to Morocco. He gets into a makeshift boat with Mauritanians and other Africans. In total, 53 passengers. Things do not go as planned. The Moroccan police arrest them. They will be placed in pre-trial detention.

"In Nador, the police arrested them. In the group, there were 8 Mauritanians, a Guinean who is Moussa Camara, and other nationalities. So, we were informed that our compatriots were in prison, we contacted the Mauritanian embassy in Morocco which immediately went to free our brothers to repatriate them directly to Mauritania," recounts to Africaguinee Mohamed Sokhona, Moussa Camara’s brother-in-law. Things will quickly complicate for the Guinean migrant. "Moussa Camara remained in prison until he was convicted for acts he did not commit," he confides.

The defendant was sentenced to 10 years in prison. Mr. Sokhona says he has taken steps for his release. Without success. "I took a visa at the Moroccan embassy here in Angola to go see Moussa’s situation. (...) I asked the embassy to give me a document so that I could go free Moussa, they didn’t want to. It was impossible. I tried to go alone, they tell me that it’s not possible because I don’t have the same last name as Moussa, and that we’re not even the same nationality," he details.

"As an association for the defense of human rights, we have noted serious violations in the trial procedure of Moussa: during his arrest, the police reports were drawn up in Arabic without any translation, before the judge, the interpreter was only present when the verdict was pronounced," denounces Oumar Naji, vice-president of the Moroccan Association of Human Rights-Nador section, stressing that the Guinean migrant was convicted as a smuggler, which he is not. They all call on the Guinean authorities to work for Moussa’s release.