Morocco Cancels Thousands of Search Warrants

The Public Ministry’s leadership proceeded with the massive cancellation of more than 74,000 arrest warrants, rendered obsolete by statute of limitations or regularization of the situation of those involved. This unprecedented initiative, coupled with the reexamination of thousands of body attachment procedures, illustrates a vast criminal rationalization strategy reported by the daily newspaper Assabah. The effects of this policy are already being felt on the ground, with the pretrial incarceration rate having dropped to stabilize around 29% in 2025, thus turning the page on the alarming peaks recorded at the height of the health crisis.

On Bladi.net : In Morocco, thousands of search warrants cancelled, here’s why

The institution’s secretary general, Wali Alami, elevates the reduction of provisional detentions as a major challenge for justice. Recalling the importance of the presumption of innocence, he emphasizes that deprivation of liberty before trial must no longer be perceived as a systematic norm. According to him, this coercive measure must remain an "exceptional tool, governed by two imperatives: the protection of public order and the guarantee of proper administration of justice." The official insists that "pretrial detention and convictions form a fragile balance," requiring precise and measured dosing on the part of magistrates.

On Bladi.net : Rapper Sentenced to 8 Months in Prison in Morocco

To anchor this new philosophy in practice, authorities are deploying a range of alternatives to imprisonment. Release on bail is increasingly favored to guarantee the presence of the accused, as are substitute sentences such as community service or probation for minor offenses. Supported by recent amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code, the institution now limits pretrial detention to the most serious crimes and cases of recidivism. Beyond the numbers, Moroccan justice aims to rebuild its relationship with citizens by making freedom the absolute principle, and incarceration the ultimate exception.