Moroccan Prison Authority Refutes Human Rights Watch Claims on Inmate Conditions

To silence these unfounded accusations, the DGAPR has provided clarifications on each of these inmates. Regarding the prisoner (A.B), currently detained in the Toulal 2 prison, the DGPAR stated that he is placed in a cell that meets all the necessary hygiene conditions (lighting, ventilation, etc.). However, it stressed that he is entitled to his daily one-hour walk, during which he engages in sports activities, like all the other inmates housed in the same wing. According to the DGPAR, the prisoner also benefits from meals respecting the diet recommended by his doctor, while having the right to shop at the establishment’s grocery store.

Also, it specified that this detainee, with regard to his family visits, is the subject of special treatment allowing him to welcome his family even outside the days set for him, for longer periods. The General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration further argues that this inmate receives more visitors, as his family does not reside in Morocco and does not visit him regularly, adding that he also enjoys his right to regularly call his family by phone, and to send and receive letters.

The DGPAR stressed that it has never prohibited the detainee (T.B), incarcerated in the Ain Borja prison in Casablanca, from communicating with the inmates and guards. It maintains that the allegations made by HRW are "devoid of any basis", recalling that this inmate is in daily contact with the establishment’s officials and that he himself preferred to be placed in an individual cell.

As for the inmate (N.Z), incarcerated in the Ras El Ma prison in Fez, the General Delegation for Prison Administration and Reintegration insists that the inmate enjoys all his rights guaranteed by law, including the daily walk, a balanced diet, in quantity and quality, and medical examinations if necessary as well as the prescribed medicines. It also added that this inmate also benefits from family visits, as has been reported in many of its previous press releases.