Spanish Inmates in Morocco’s Tetouan Prison Allege Abuse and Poor Conditions

– byPrince@Bladi · 2 min read
Spanish Inmates in Morocco's Tetouan Prison Allege Abuse and Poor Conditions

Salvador Guerrero, a 50-year-old Spaniard, incarcerated in the Tetouan 2 prison in Morocco for 17 months, denounces the poor conditions of detention and the ill-treatment of which he says he is a victim.

Guerrero is one of the fifteen Spaniards currently detained in the Tetouan 2 prison in Morocco. Sentenced to five years in prison for a crime against public health, he has already served nearly 18 months in this prison, which he entered on August 9, 2020, according to El Faro de Ceuta. This week, the Spanish prisoner denounced his poor detention conditions.

"The food they serve us, usually beans or lentils, is very bad," criticizes Guerrero, adding that they do not have the possibility of buying other products "only once every 13 or 15 days" to supplement their diet, which the management of the center describes as "balanced in terms of quality and necessary caloric intake".

To read: Colombian Sailors Allege Abuse in Moroccan Custody After Arrest in Rabat

The Spanish detainee also denounces the living conditions. "In the rooms, we are grouped together like animals up to forty people who, in some cases, have to sleep on the floor. It is in these conditions that I spent the first seven months," explains Guerrero, according to whom they only receive a visit from a doctor on Fridays and that the hot water in the shower "is only available on Mondays". The Spaniard also says that he has "only been able to participate in sports activities once in 17 months" and has not been able to make telephone calls.

To read: Spanish Man Faces Extended Detention in Morocco Over Unpaid Customs Fine

Guerrero also points out that no representative of the Spanish consulate in Rabat has come to visit him, "unlike those from other countries such as Great Britain". The prison authorities, for their part, deny Guerrero’s allegations, assuring that "the Spanish prisoners enjoy the same rights as the others" and like all inmates, they "have the possibility to call abroad every day from Monday to Thursday".