Morocco closely follows situation of its nationals sentenced to death in Iraq, FM

Rabat, April 17, 2012 (MAP)

Morocco closely follows the situation of its nationals who have been sentenced to death in Iraq, and makes this issue a top priority in its relations with this country, Moroccan Foreign Minister Saad Dine El Otmani said on Monday in Rabat.

Speaking at the House of Representatives’ question time, the minister said that his department contacted Iraqi Foreign minister Hochiar Zebari in order to defer the implementation of such sentences, allow the convicts’ families to visit them and ameliorate prison conditions.

The ministry required updated information about the Moroccan prisoners and demanded that the representative of the Moroccan embassy in Bagdad or a Moroccan official delegation visit them, El Otmani noted.

Morocco also proposed to commute death penalty to prison sentences and send Moroccan nationals home to serve their time, he added.

These efforts enabled to commute death penalty to a prison sentence for one inmate, he said, adding that consultations are still under way concerning the remaining prisoners and that the ministry shares every piece of information on Moroccans imprisoned in Iraq with their families.