Women are detained in specifically dedicated facilities or units. There are two facilities for women:

• Toulal 3
• Ain Sebaa (Casablanca)

Some local prisons have units dedicated for women, such as the Loudaya prison (Marrakesh) and Ait Melloul 2 prison (Agadir).

All searches on female prisoners are carried out by a female staff member.

The necessary amenities for care specific to women is rarely available. In its report, the administration does not mention prisoners’ access to sanitary products or gynaecological consultations. According to investigators, it is difficult for women to access consultations.

Women have access to workshops on:

• dress-making and embroidery
• hairdressing and beauty
• manual work
• breadmaking and baking
• literacy
• housekeeping
• carpet weaving

Women who are detained in units within facilities for men have fewer possibilities for training than others.

Some activities, such as electrical work or plumbing, are for men only.

Facilities or units reserved for women must have a place that serves as a crèche for mothers accompanied by young children. (Penitentiary law article 34) These areas typically consist of a room with toys or a courtyard.

The Houses for Mums (Maisons des Mamans) at Oudaya and Aïn Sebaa 2 include living spaces (double bedrooms) and a crèche with play areas.

The security staff in the children’s living spaces do not wear civilian clothes. Nannies who are not affiliated with prison staff look after the children at the “House for Mums” (Maisons des Mamans) during the day.

The prison service gives out clothes and toys to children accompanying their mothers in prison. It organises henna ritual ceremonies when a child is born (part of the Berber tradition), baptisms (A’qiqa), circumcisions for boys and some trips.¹

Other specific needs relating to food and support for children are not reported.

Offences involving minors are investigated and sentenced by specific magistrates.

Investigation:

The juvenile judge investigates files referred by the public prosecutor. Criminal acts are investigated by the officer responsible for minors at the Courts of Appeal.

Trial

Two different authorities are in charge of trials, according to the type of offence and the length of the sentence incurred:

• the juvenile judge at the court of first instance when the corresponding offence carries a sentence of less than two years in prison

• the juvenile chamber of the court of first instance when the corresponding offence carries a sentence of more than two years in prison. The chamber is made up of a presiding juvenile judge and two other magistrates.

Minors can be given custodial sentences or, less frequently, can be placed in a child protection centre. This usually takes place in cases where minors have already served long sentences.

Minors can be placed in different kinds of facilities, in prisons or in other facilities, according to age and the type of offence committed. These facilities are:

• child safeguarding centres (CSE): these are the responsibility of the Department of Youth. They cater for “resident” children, aged between seven and 18. There are 18 CSEs, two of which are for girls.

• child protection centres: these are managed by the Minister for Culture, Youth and Sport. They are socio-educational facilities the intake of which is a judicial decision, “children who have committed criminal offences, under articles 471 and 481 of the Code of Criminal Procedure”. There are six of these centres.

• reform and education centres (CRE): these are detention centres attached to the prison service. Minors and young adults (up to 20 years old) are detained there. There are three CREs (Aïn Sebaa, Settat et Salé).

Minors can also be detained in dedicated units within adult correctional facilities.

Specific activities are planned for minors such as intensive teaching and cultural, religious and artistic activities. These activities are mostly organised by associations or by the Council of Ulemas (an institution which supports religious policy in Morocco). [^act] [^act]: Delegation for Prison Administration and Rehabilitation (DGAPR), “Activity report 2018”, 2019, p. 161 (in Arabic).

More than half of foreign prisoners are from the African continent, 209 of whom are Nigerian. The other foreign prisoners are mostly French (70), Brazilian (32) and Syrian (25).¹

Illegal residence is punishable with imprisonment, according to the provisions of Law no. 02-03. This provides for fines and imprisonment for any foreign person who:

• has remained in Morocco beyond the length of their visa “except in cases of force majeure or a valid reason”
• is a resident in Morocco without holding a registration card or residence card
• whose registration card or residence card has expired and who has not applied for a renewal within the time limits stipulated by law, “except in cases of force majeure or a valid reason”

Length of sentence forms a part of the way in which prisoners are classified. Long-term prisoners are often put in class A, the regime with highest security, and have less access to activities.

Life sentences are imposed in particular for crimes linked to terrorism and violent crime.

Life-sentenced prisoners are not subject to a specific prison regime. However, they are automatically classified as category A during the first years of their sentence. Their classification can then change.

Life-sentenced prisoners cannot apply for parole, a measure which is rarely granted in Morocco. They are however eligible for a royal pardon.

See Sentence adjustments policies for more information.

The length of pre-trial detention is limited to one year. This time limit is often exceeded. The excessive use of pre-trial detention can lead to arbitrary detention.

Moroccan law does not allow prisoners to appeal against pre-trial detention.

Untried prisoners do not benefit from a special regime of detention in line with the presumption of their innocence. They are jailed in local prisons which are often overcrowded and where the requirement of individual cells for defendants is not met.

Defendants are sometimes transferred to other areas of the relevant jurisdiction due to overcrowding. These transfers slow down the justice system and separate prisoners from their relatives.

There are political prisoners or prisoners of conscience (including Sahrawi separatists, politically active young people and Riffians) in Moroccan prisons.¹ The law does not provide for imprisonment for these reasons and the government does not recognise the existence of these people. These prisoners are usually convicted for criminal offences on the basis of confessions obtained under duress. They are not subject to a particular prison regime and are often the targets of torture and ill treatment. ²

Elderly prisoners do not benefit from specific arrangements and care. They are usually classified as category C. This category corresponds to the lowest level of security with increased access to activities.

The law does not provide for early release for elderly prisoners.

Prison staff receive minimal training in the care and support for disabled prisoners. This takes place as part of their initial training.

The death penalty is replaced by a sentence of between 10 and 15 years for minors. The law states that pregnant women can be executed two years after giving birth.

No executions have taken place since 1993. Death sentences are, in practice, life sentences.

Prisoners sentenced to death are subject to a very harsh prison regime and live in precarious conditions. Together Against the Death Penalty (EPCM) has met with prisoners sentenced to death at Kenitra prison. Prisoners sleep on the floor without a mattress and are only allowed to shower once a week. A large proportion of them suffer from psychopathological problems. They are at particular risk of depression. They do not benefit from sporting or leisure activities.

Prisoners sentenced to death are usually jailed in dedicated units. These units are equipped with a special surveillance system.

The death penalty debate has mobilised civil society organisations. The Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CMCPM) has been fighting to abolish it since 2003. This coalition brings together 11 organisations including the Moroccan Observatory of Prisons (OMP) and the Association of Lawyers’ Bars in Morocco (l’Association des barreaux d’avocats au Maroc). There have been official calls within the Moroccan parliamentary network against the death penalty. The former president of the National Human Rights Council (CNDH), Driss El Yazami, regularly speaks out in favour of abolishing it. Mustafa Ramid, former Minister of Justice and Liberties and current Minister for Human Rights is in favour of keeping the death penalty but campaigns for it to be restricted.