Their Sentence Is Over, but Algeria Still Holds Moroccan Nationals

The fate of hundreds of Moroccan nationals stranded in Algeria is now worrying Parliament. Member of Parliament Moulay Mehdi Fatmi submitted a written question to Nasser Bourita, asking the government to accelerate their return and clarify the steps taken with the Algerian authorities.

The document, officially published by the House of Representatives, reports more than 800 cases being monitored by a specialized Moroccan association. They concern prisoners as well as people still under investigation, nationals awaiting deportation, and Moroccan nationals held in administrative detention after having already served their sentences.

More than 600 Moroccan nationals are currently believed to be in Algerian prisons, in cases mainly linked to attempts at irregular migration. Around one hundred others are reportedly still under investigation.

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The most surprising situation concerns those whose sentences have already ended. According to data from the Moroccan Association for Assistance to Migrants in Vulnerable Situations (AMSV), around 113 people are either in the process of being repatriated to Morocco or still held in administrative detention despite having completed their sentences.

Prison over, the wait can continue

The phenomenon is not new. In June, 34 Moroccan nationals were finally able to return to the kingdom after being detained in Algeria. Most had just completed sentences imposed for irregular residence, while the AMSV had already raised the alarm over nationals remaining stranded after their judicial release.

The return generally takes place via the closed land border between the two countries. The Algerian authorities take the people concerned to the Maghnia area before handing them over to the Moroccan authorities at Zouj Bghal, near Oujda.

The border is then opened only occasionally to allow these transfers. On August 19, 49 Moroccan nationals, including three minors and two women, were handed over to Morocco. Ten others had already used the same crossing a week earlier, according to data provided by the AMSV.

However, these successive operations are not enough to absorb the number of pending cases. In the spring, hundreds of Moroccan nationals had already been reported stranded in Algeria, some simply waiting for the formalities required for their deportation to be completed.

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The case is all the more sensitive because the two countries have closed their land border and severed diplomatic relations. The procedures must therefore be carried out through the Moroccan consular representations still present in Algeria.

The AMSV says it is working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and with the Moroccan consulates in Algiers, Oran and Tlemcen to identify the people concerned, inform their families and facilitate repatriations.

Member of Parliament Moulay Mehdi Fatmi is now asking Nasser Bourita what measures are being taken, in coordination with Algiers, to “accelerate” the resolution of these situations and guarantee the legal and human rights of Moroccan nationals.

His question, submitted on August 28, has so far received no official response. It also mentions Moroccan nationals reported missing in Algeria, another aspect of the more than 800 cases currently being monitored.