Rabat - The number of state of emergency violators in Morocco keeps rising daily, as the General Directorate of National Security announced today the arrest of 4,261 more individuals.
Rabat – The number of state of emergency violators in Morocco keeps rising daily, as the General Directorate of National Security announced today the arrest of 4,261 more individuals.
DGSN shared the statistics from the last 24 hours’ arrests on Twitter, bringing the country’s total number of such arrests to 65,390 since the state of emergency began on March 20.
Security services brought over 32,725 individuals before the public prosecutor’s office, over half of the total arrests.
Casablanca still accounts for the majority of arrests (8,791), followed by Rabat (8,648), Kenira (6,783), Marrakech (6,131), Oujda (5,599), Agadir (4,354), and Sale (3,676).
Charges mainly include crowding in public, inciting citizens to gather, and not carrying a legitimate “exceptional movement permit.”
The number of arrests has risen daily this week as security forces registered 2,993 arrests on April 20, 3,277 on April 21, 3,590 on April 22, 4,126 on April 23, and 4,261 on April 24.
During Ramadan
In order to adapt with the requirements of the state of emergency during the month of Ramadan, the Ministry of Interior declared that curfew will run from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m.
However, the ministry has issued a number of exceptions for people employed in activities requiring night work, regarding the curfew during the holy month. Health care executives, medical and paramedical workers, medical transport staff, and pharmaceutical staff are exempt from the Ramadan curfew limits.
The exceptions also concern the Royal Armed Forces, the civil defense services, prison services, and the services from the customs and indirect taxes administration.
The ministry declared that people working in the duty services in public administrations, as well as executives of public media establishments and private radio stations, must have a certificate justifying their night work.
Crime rate
In contrast to the rising number of the state of emergency arrests, DGSN recorded a 20% decline in the general crime rate between March 2019 and the same period in 2020, which translates to approximately 10,867 fewer criminal cases in the country.
Crimes related to theft under the threat of a weapon decreased by 52%, reported sexual assault and rape cases decreased by 41%, premeditated homicide cases went down 67%, and reported economic and financial crimes fell by 23%, in addition to decreases in other categories of crime.
Although the state of emergency has lowered the crime rate, DGSN still conducts significant operations in the fight against drug trafficking.
DGSN announced today the seizure of 365 kilograms of cannabis resin in the region of Amskroud, 38 kilometers from the southern city of Agadir.
The operation adds to a similar one that took place in Zagora, approximately 350 kilometers southeast of Marrakech, where police members arrested three individuals for their alleged links with a criminal network and seized nearly 1.7 tons of cannabis resin.
Morocco’s Ministry of Health reported 139 new COVID-19 infections in the last 22 hours, bringing the country’s total confirmed cases to 3,897. Officials also reported 51 more recovered patients, resulting in a total of 537 recoveries.
Since testing began for suspected COVID-19 cases in Morocco, Moroccan laboratories have conducted 21,546 tests that yielded negative results.
