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Join on Telegram Rabat – Morocco now ranks 132nd out of 163 in the 2018 terrorism index, gaining nine places compared to the 2017 report when it ranked 123rd.
The report showcases that Morocco has two strategies to deal with foreign fighter returnees: Deradicalization programs and imprisonment.
In 2015, Morocco established a policy that allowed law enforcement to apprehend returnees for investigation and put them in custody.
Returnees typically receive sentences ranging from 10 to 15 years in prison.
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Morocco also set up a program to counter violent extremism through hard security measures, regional cooperation, intelligence sharing, the promotion of moderate Islam, and democratic reform.
According to a document shared by Morocco on the Move, Morocco’s counter- radicalization strategy seeks to protect citizens from extreme forms of Islam.
The strategy also includes renovation and upgrading of mosques, making official lists of imams public, and reviewing laws governing worship locations.
Morocco’s strategy makes the North African country safer than powerful countries, including the US, ranked 20th, and France, ranked 30th.
Tunisia was ranked 47th, while Algeria ranked 54th.
Morocco’s counterterrorism strategy received praise from several international powers as something that can be learned from.
In its 2018 Country Report on Terrorism, the US Department of State applauded Morocco’s efforts in combating terror threats internationally.
Read Also: BCIJ Dismantles 6-Member Terror Cell in Central Morocco
he State Department said, “Following the August attacks in Barcelona, Morocco assisted the Spanish investigation and promised to expand cooperation to track terrorists of Moroccan origin radicalized abroad.”
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), which was introduced in 2015, reinforced the country’s strategy to tackle terrorism and drug trafficking.
In the last three years, Morocco’s BCIJ has dismantled a number of terror cells and helped several countries to arrest suspects with ties to terrorism.
Just recently, on December 7, Morocco’s BCIJ arrested a six-member terror cell for their alleged ties with ISIS. On Saturday, BCIJ also busted an international drug trafficking ring, seizing 1 ton of cocaine.
BCIJ also arrested seven members involved with the international drug trafficking network.
